inFAMOUS: Beyond Evil
by Adams7
Summary: Go beyond the evil ending of infamous 2. It has been 2 years since Cole-the Beast- finished his 10 year war against the humans. Now Cole's adopted son, Eli is thrown into the conflict between the Human Resistance and the Conduits and must fight to protect the only hope for peace in the future: Ella Wolfe.
1. New Testament

InFAMOUS: Beyond Evil

1: New Testament

_ My name is Eli, I am a Conduit._

_ What is a Conduit? Well a Conduit is a person with a gene that allows him or her to develop powers. They are also the only people that are immune to the Plague. However, only active Conduits are immune. To activate a Conduit, they need to be in the radius of a Blast. A Blast is a powerful explosion of what we call "Ray Field Energy" that drains all normal humans of their life force and pumps it into any potential Conduits within the Blast radius, activating their powers. There is only one person in the world that can generate a Blast, the leader of the Conduits: Cole MacGrath._

_ This was how I got my power. I was part of the first Blast in New Marais, at the time, I was 2 years old. My earliest memory was of a woman with dyed blue hair pulling me out of the rubble of a cathedral. She took me to a young man wearing a white baseball tee with black sleeves and black pants with a white Union Jack on one leg. That was Cole. Of all the New Marais Conduits, I was the youngest, so the blue-haired woman, Lucy Kuo, took me under her wing. I traveled with Cole, Kuo, and the rest of our Conduit army from city to city as Cole activated more and more Conduits. Soon we numbered in the thousands and continued to grow. As the years passed, millions of people died from the Plague and millions more were consumed in Blasts to save Conduits._

_ During this time, my own powers developed. I can manipulate plasma in its various forms including light, fire, and lightning. Because of my powerful abilities, Cole himself has taken an interest in me, taking up the task of training me and, more importantly, adopted me as his son._

_ My name is Eli MacGrath, and this is my story._

* * *

><p>Eli:<p>

I hurled a plasma bolt at the target, "Faster!" Cole instructed "Fire with more accuracy!"

I gritted my teeth and launched 3 more bolts at the next few targets in quick succession. I took cover behind a low wall as several paintball pellets fired in quick succession from wall-mounted turrets. "Take the fight to the enemy!" Cole commanded.

A small ball of light, like a little sun, formed in the palm of my hand. I lobbed it over the wall and it landed in front of the turrets in a flash of light, blinding their targeting systems. I rolled out of cover and fired fire missiles at the turrets, destroying them.

"Better" Cole said with a nod. In the past 12 years, he had grown a beard streaked with grey.

I flexed my shoulders and said cheerfully, "When isn't it?"

Cole gave me a small smile, something that did not come easily to him these days, "I suppose your constant rate of improvement is something to be thankful for," he gestured toward the door of the small training room, "We're done for today, go wash up, you can hang with your friends until dinner."

I smiled gratefully and raced out of the training room. I made my way to my bedroom and went into the small bathroom connected to it. I turned on the faucet in the sink and splashed cool water in my face to wipe away the sweat. Unlike Cole, my body constantly generates plasma instead of electricity so I can handle large amounts of water better than Cole although I still get shocked if I'm completely submerged.

After I finished drying my face with a towel I studied my reflection in the mirror. My skin was pale from lack of sunlight. There was a single streak of gold in the bangs of my messy black hair. My almost gold eyes shone in the dim light. I shrugged and exited the bathroom, going to my room's small balcony that overlooked Conduit City. Originally called Los Tormenta, Conduit City was where Cole choose to settle his Conduit army after his 10 year Campaign against the humans. Slowly, the Conduits were repairing the city, reconstructing its towering skyscrapers and expanding the city's borders. My home was one of the first new buildings to be constructed, a towering, narrow pyramid like a giant needle, with a halo attached to the tip.

"Have I ever told you this would be a great place for base jumping?" I smiled and looked over the balcony railing to see my best friend Ryan Black scaling the side of the building.

"I thought Anderson told you that if he ever caught you climbing the tower again he would through you off the top?" I said with a smirk as I reached out a hand to pull Ryan up.

"Well, he won't catch me," Ryan said as he climbed over the railing.

I shook my head in amusement. A native of South Africa, Ryan spoke with a thick accent. An orphan like me, Ryan's last name was not due to his skin color but rather, to his ability to manipulate shadows around himself too become invisible. Ironically, despite his affinity with the shadows, Ryan was an incredibly bright and cheerful individual and he had this annoying tendency to wear vibrant colors. For example, today he was wearing blazing white shorts and a neon green t-shirt which had written across the front in bold blue letters: CONDUITS ROCK.

"So," Ryan asked "Has 'the Beast' let you loose for the day?"

"Yep," I rolled my eyes at the use of the name the humans gave Cole.

"Sweet," Ryan said, "wait till you hear what I-"

"RYAN!" a shrill voice called from below the balcony.

Ryan's eyes widened "Uh oh," he ran into the darkest corner of my room and crouched in it, "I'm not here," he whispered before the faint shadows turned pitch-black and Ryan melted into them, returning the shadows to their original shading, leaving the corner empty.

"I KNOW YOUR UP THERE RYAN!" the voice called.

I went back to the balcony and looked down at the source of the shouting: a 15 year old girl standing on a disk of light the size of a manhole cover that shifted between every shade of blue and green as it carried her upward. The girl was wearing a black leather jacket over a black tank top with a silver skull on it. She wore tight black jeans with a studded black belt; her hands were stuck in the pockets of her jacket but I could see the chain bracelets on her wrists. Her long, flowing, dirty blond hair fell past her shoulders and halfway down her back. In the front was a long streak of hair the same shifting blue-to-green color as the disk of light she stood on. Her skin was deathly pale.

I smiled in what I hoped was an inconspicuous manner, "Hey Sunny."

The girl nicknamed Sunny (I'll give you three guesses why) fixed me with eyes that were also a shifting blue-to-green color, "Where is Ryan?" she asked coolly in her British accent.

"And why would you be looking for him?" I asked slyly.

Sunny's dark, blood red lips formed a snarl as she floated up to eyelevel, "I'll tell you why. Because he did _this_ to me while I was asleep!" she thrust her hands out of her pockets at me palms down so that I could see that her normally black fingernails had been painted hot pink.

I raised my eyebrows "Wow, that's…"

"It's not funny!"

"It kinda is." I said with a smirk.

Sunny flipped over the railing. "Whatever, just tell me where he's hiding."

"What if I told you that he's not here?" I folded my arms across my chest and leaned against the wall, still smirking.

"Then I'd do this!" Sunny growled. She stretched out her hand into my room and suddenly every square inch was illuminated in a blinding light.

"Agh!" without any shadows to conceal him, Ryan faded back into sight.

Sunny turned and fixed me with a pointed glare, "Oh, hey Ryan!" I said trying to sound casual and failing miserably "When did you get here?" I let out a nervous chuckle that faded away along with my smirk when I saw that Sunny was most definitely _not_ amused. I winced "Please don't kill me."

"Now why shouldn't I do that?" Sunny said menacingly.

"Because I'm fun and adorable?" I said hopefully "And because Ryan is making a break for it."

Sunny spun around in time to see Ryan leap off the balcony, turn into an arrow of darkness, and shoot out into the city. "RYAN!" Sunny leapt off the balcony after Ryan. A disk of light formed under her feet and, crouching low on it, Sunny sped off in pursuit.

I rolled my eyes and went back into my room to grab a long rectangular metal plate. I ran back out to the balcony and leaped over the railing. As I fell, I slid the metal plate under my feet and as soon as I made contact with the plate, lightning arced across it and my fall became a glide. I landed on a rooftop and shot forward across it, as flames roared out the back of the plate. The board, for that is what it had become, carried me from rooftop to rooftop as I searched for my friends. Finally, in Bellawood, I found Sunny on a rooftop holding a vaguely human-shaped shadow by the throat.

I rode up to them and said casually, "You know, you can just paint your nails black again."

Sunny glared at me "That's not the point! I'm sick and tired of his damn pranks!"

"Oh come on!" Ryan said, reverting from his shadow form. "You have to admit you like some of my pranks!"

A faint smile twitched on Sunny's lips. "I'll admit, the time you tricked Burke into appearing in front of half his gang in his Care-Bear pajamas was kinda funny."

"I beg to differ," I nearly jumped out of my skin as I heard that all too familiar voice. Turning to the source I saw a large, muscular, 18 year old young man of African decent with a buzz cut. He was wearing a red t-shirt with a gold fist stamped on the front. Flames danced across his fingers.

"Burke," Sunny said coolly, releasing Ryan "What do you want?"

Burke spoke with a thick West African accent, "I've got a message for daddy's boy here," He spat, gesturing to me.

"So you're Banga's little delivery boy now?" I said dryly.

Burke sneered, "Cute, MacGrath, _real_ cute."

"What do the Blood Gold want now Burke?" Ryan asked mockingly "Do they need Cole to come down and give them a band-aid for a little boo-boo?"

Burke growled at Ryan, "I'd watch your back if I were you. You might find a knife in it one day." He turned back to me "Banga wants you to tell Cole that the Feral are harassing the Outskirts again."

I took a step forward "You know, you're lucky Cole tolerates your little gang's existence."

Burke took a menacing step forward, "You talk big from your safe little perch in Downtown don't ya? Why don't you come down to the Outskirts and we'll see how tough you are then? Oh, wait," a taunting smile wormed its way onto Burke's lips. "Your daddy wont let you go to the Outskirts will he? Thinks you're still too weak."

Anger flared up inside me and purple lightning crackled in my palms. Before I could strike, however, Sunny grabbed my arm. "Come on," she said calmly "this ass isn't worth it

* * *

><p>I found Cole in the briefing room with Kuo and Cole's head of security, Anderson. "The Human Resistance are pushing, we've already lost a dozen Conduits this week." Anderson was saying, "If this keeps up we'll-" he stopped when I entered.<p>

Cole looked up from the map of Conduit City he was studying and fixed his gaze on me, "Yes, Eli?"

"Burke contacted me," I said "he says that the Feral are harassing the Outskirts again."

"Damn it!" Kuo swore, "We can't handle all these threats simultaneously!"

I decided that now would be a good time to leave. Sunny and Ryan were waiting for me in the hall outside, "Well?" Sunny asked "What's going on?"

I shrugged "I don't know, it sounds like they have their hands full. I don't know why."

"I bet I can find out," Ryan said with a mischievous grin. He took out his cell phone and disappeared into the shadows.

Sunny cocked an eyebrow at me. "Has it ever occurred to him that maybe there are some things we shouldn't hear."

"Like your singing?" I said with a grin.

Sunny glared at me, "Do you want to have a repeat of last Tuesday?"

I paled, "No."

"Then I suggest you shut up."

Several minutes later, Ryan reappeared holding up his phone triumphantly, "Check this out."

He pressed a button on the phone and immediately Anderson's voice started playing through the speakers, "-tween the Feral, the Blood Gold, and the HR, the Outskirts have become a warzone."

Cole's voice started speaking, "As long as I'm here, the Blood Gold won't try anything and the Feral are too disorganized to pose a threat so long as they're kept outside the city. The real problem is the HR. Have we had any new leads on where they're getting their supplies and weapons from?"

"No," Kuo spoke up "Most, if not all of the worlds governments are either gone or dissolved into territorial city-states. Our Conduit cities in South Africa have heard rumors of an underground military organization in Rissikburg that's taking control, but with the Feral roaming around, its to risky to verify."

"What about the remaining humans?" Cole asked "Last time I checked, most of the cities not under our control were deserted."

"It's the Feral." Kuo said, "They've been driving people out of rural areas and into the cities. We've managed to suppress the Plague for now but if people keep on being crowded back into cities, its only a matter of time before we have another outbreak."

"And I can't leave as long as the Blood gold and HR remain active." Cole said bitterly.

"What if you gave your powers to someone else?" Anderson asked.

"No!" Cole said sharply, "I will not relinquish even a fraction of my powers to anyone who I do not believe can handle it!"

Ryan pressed the button again and the recording stopped. "That's all I got before I think Kuo noticed me."

"Oh, she noticed you all right." A cool voice said behind us. We spun around and saw Kuo standing behind us, hands on her hips. "You're in _big_ trouble."

**A/N: I've wanted to write this fic since I finished the evil ending of infamous 2. This is my first fan fic so please kindly criticizes.**


	2. First Sin

**A/N: First of all, my premise for there still being humans alive is that there is roughly 7 billion people on the planet, it is highly improbable that Cole and the Plague could wipe out the entire non-Conduit population. Second, for those of you who have not yet figured it out, Rissikburg is based off of Johannesburg and Conduit City is based off of LA. Finally, please review, and review kindly, they make me happy.**

2: First Sin

_ Conduit City was divided into 3 parts: Downtown, Bellawood, and the Outskirts. Downtown covered the majority of the city and the beachfront, while Bellawood was full of old studios, movie theaters, hotels, and various other tourist traps. The Outskirts, on the other hand, were the slums of Conduit City. Located further inland than the rest of the city, the Outskirts were a ruin, filled with gangs, rebels, and outcasts. Cole would occasionally make trips to the Outskirts to suppress any uprisings that may spark. Because of its dangerous environment, Cole has forbidden me to go there. The one time I disobeyed him was the first time I met Burke._

_ Burke was another Blast orphan like me and Sunny (Ryan was a street urchin before). While some orphans were lucky enough to be adopted like me, and others found homes in Downtown or Bellawood, Burke was one of the ones that fell in with the gangs, most notably, the Blood Gold. Led by a powerful Conduit from Kenya named Banga, the Blood Gold are the de facto leaders of the Outskirts. Burke had quickly risen to the rank of Enforcer and soon he was extorting the weaker Conduits in the Outskirts, mostly orphans too young to join a gang or who refused to._

_ This is how we first crossed paths: 2 years ago, not long after we settled Conduit City, Ryan convinced me and Sunny to go on a little excursion to the Outskirts for some "fun". During our wanderings, we saw Burke set fire to a warehouse (he's a pyrokinetic by the way). Sunny, upon seeing this display of destruction, had the brilliant idea of lecturing Burke on the importance of not destroying potential resources. This annoyed Burke a great deal and he threw Sunny through a wall. Needless to say, this angered me and Ryan. We attacked Burke but our fight didn't go very far because Cole had followed us to the Outskirts and broke up the fight. Cole was, overall, very pissed about me disobeying him and punished me severely. That day, I swore I would never go back to the Outskirts._

_ If I only knew…_

* * *

><p>Eli:<p>

I leaned back in the recliner inside Ryan's hideout in Downtown. Located in the ruins of an old rooftop penthouse, Ryan's "crib" as he liked to call it, was sparsely luxurious. After discovering Ryan's spying, Cole had fried Ryan's cell phone to a crisp. Not that it made much of a difference to Ryan; he had over a dozen other phones he had lifted from various electronics stores across the city.

Ryan was currently in the kitchen getting 2 root beers from the fridge. Sunny was sitting across from me on the couch, nursing a thermos of tea and a haunted, angry look on her face. It had been 2 days since our encounter with Burke and we hadn't seen heads or tails of her since that day until she appeared on Ryan's patio, looking stricken and saying she had something important to tell us. Ryan returned with the root beer and tossed me a can while he sat down on the coffee table.

"What is it you wanted to tell us?" Ryan asked no humor in his voice. He could tell that this was very serious.

Sunny took a swig of her tea. She only drank tea when she was greatly upset, a comfort drink, she had called it. "Burke and his goons made a raid on my building. They… They took Helen."

I bolted upright and Ryan stood, calling Burke a "forker".

"This has to stop." I said "Tell Kuo about this, she won't stand for the Blood Gold abusing girls."

Sunny looked at me with hard eyes, "No, they'd see her coming from a mile away. I, on the other hand, can get to them without being discovered, but I can't do it alone."

Ryan looked at Sunny in surprise, "You want_ our_ help?"

"You're the only people I trust with this," Sunny replied.

"Well, I'm in." I said firmly.

"Me too. Where'd they take her?" Ryan asked.

"That hotel on 3rd street," Sunny said "Remember, we need to be subtle."

* * *

><p>I blasted open the door to the hotel room Burke had taken Helen to. "That wasn't subtle," Sunny said disapprovingly.<p>

I ignored her as Ryan and I stepped into the room. It was empty except for an 11 year old girl hiding in the corner. Both of Helen's eyes were blackened and her chestnut hair was a mess. Sunny ran to Helen and comforted her while Ryan went to search the bathroom and I went to the closet. A purple lightning bolt at the ready, I slowly opened the closet.

Before I could react, Burke erupted out of the closet, and grabbed me. Fire roared from his feet and propelled us through a window on the opposite wall. Burke released me and I fell 3 stories to the street below, landing with a hard thud. Burke used his rockets to lower himself to the ground a few yards from me as I got to my feet.

Burke smirked at me and cracked his knuckles, "I've been waiting a long time for this MacGrath."

Blood red flames erupted in my hands and I charged. Burke fired fireballs at me while I unleashed my own blast of fire. The flames collided in an explosion and I followed through with several bolts of purple lightning. He rolled out of the way and fired a large blast of fire which I ducked under. A sun grenade appeared in the palm of my hand and I lobbed it at Burke. He ducked under the grenade and rushed forward, his entire arm lighting up in flames. He swung at my head with his flaming fist and I ducked, throwing a punch at his gut. He absorbed my blow and landed a devastating uppercut to my jaw, sending me to the ground. I rolled out of the war of his follow through punch at my head and jumped to my feet, aiming a kick at Burke's stomach.

Burke caught my kick and yanked me toward him, punching the side of my head and sending me to the ground once more. Lightning flashed across my arms as I rose to my feet and I threw several lightning fast jabs at Burke. Burke dodged my jabs and I saw a flash of silver before Burke drove a knife between my ribs. Pain surged through me and I launched a desperate shockwave at Burke, sending him flying back. The pain gave way to anger and my vision clouded red. This ass had caused nothing but trouble for me for years and now he had just stabbed me? Well, I won't take it anymore.

I fired lightning bolt after lightning bolt at the stunned Burke and then I rushed forward and grabbed his head. I pumped thousands of volts into that bastard's skull and then I released him, letting his spazzing body fall to the ground. He jerked and twitched for several seconds before he laid still, his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide in shock.

My vision cleared and I noticed that several people had been drawn to our fight. I looked down at my chest and saw that the knife had been torn free by the shockwave, leaving a long, jagged cut in my side that bled fiercely, soaking my brown shirt in blood. I glanced up and saw that Sunny and Ryan were watching from the shattered window. Sunny had a look of shock on her face and Ryan was smiling and giving me a thumbs-up.

A man broke free of the crowed that had gathered and ran to Burke's still unmoving form. He knelt down and checked Burke's pulse then looked at me in horror. "You killed him."

Everything stopped. The realization that, for the first time in my life, I had killed someone, felt like a blow to the gut. Up at the window, Sunny let out a gasp and Ryan's smile faded. I looked around at the crowd's accusing faces I thought, _what will Cole think?_ At the thought of facing Cole I did the only thing I could...

I ran.

* * *

><p>It was well past midnight when I finally stopped running. My stab wound was still bleeding, covering my entire front in blood. I stumbled my way into a side alley. I guessed I was somewhere near the edge of Bellawood but right now I didn't really care. My side was numb and I felt light-headed, I had lost a lot of blood. My legs turned to jelly and I collapsed, landing on my bad side. My vision blurred and o could barely make out the 3 shapes moving toward me.<p>

"We found a live one." The first shape said in a gruff voice.

"Should we put it out of its misery?" another voice asked this one cold and female.

"Why bother?" a third, smooth, voice said "He's almost dead anyways."

"Wait," Gruff said, "I think I recognize him." I felt large hands roll me on my back and I heard a sharp intake of breath.

"Its MacGrath's kid." Smooth said.

I heard the sound of a gun being cocked, "Do you want me to kill him?" Cold asked.

"No," Gruff said as I faded into unconsciousness, "I have a better idea."


	3. Ella Wolfe

**A/N: Not all chapters will start with Eli's background narration. Another thing to note is that while the majority of the story will be told from Eli's perspective, I will occasionally tell it from the views of other characters. **

3: Ella Wolfe

Eli:

I woke up on an uncomfortable cot in a small cell. Instinctively I reached for my wound only to find that it was gone, leaving only a long white scar. I blinked, confused. _How long have I been here?_ The cell door opened and in stepped a large man with a grey beard and thinning grey hair, a jagged scar split his face.

"Greetings, Eli." The man said and I recognized him as Gruff, "I am General Roman, the leader of the Human Resistance."

Anger surged through me and I jumped to my feet, a lightning bolt sparking in my hand. Roman looked at me curiously, I wouldn't do that if I were you." I raised the bolt and prepared to strike Roman down when a sharp pain shot through the back of my neck. I collapsed to my hands and knees.

"I warned you." Roman said dryly.

I reached up to the back of my neck and felt a small device attached there, "What is this?" I asked.

"A way to keep you under my control," Roman answered "Whenever you use your powers without permission, it stimulates the pain receptors in your spine. Ergo causing you pain."

I stood up and sat down on the cot, "How long have I been here?"

"Only a few hours," Roman replied.

My brow furrowed in puzzlement. There was no way I could have completely healed in a few hours. "Then how-" I started to ask but Roman cut me off.

"We'll get to that later. Right now we're going to discuss the reason you're here." He pulled up a chair and sat down across from me. "Whether you realize it or not, Eli you are the perfect person to assassinate MacGrath."

My anger welled up again, "You want me to assassinate my own _father_?" I laughed bitterly "I don't know what drugs you're on pal, but that's not happening."

Roman studied me for a moment. "Understand, Eli that your 'father' is the worst mass murderer in history. Do you know how many people he's killed? 4 billion, that's over half the Earth's original population."

"They were already dead." I said "If Cole hadn't done what he did; the Plague would have wiped out the entire human race."

"Even if you're right, the only way for there ever to be peace between humans and Conduits is if the Beast dies." Roman said darkly.

I laughed, "_Peace _between Conduits and humans? Really? Have you forgotten the Plague? We may have suppressed it for now, but it's only a matter of time before there's another outbreak, then you'll need 'the Beast' to stop it from spreading."

Roman cocked an eyebrow at me, "What if I told you we have a cure?"

My smug expression faded, "Bull,"

Roman smiled, "You may come in now, Ella."

Slowly, a small girl no older than six stepped into the room. She had braided, light brown hair and huge blue eyes that looked at me, not with fear, but with awe. She wore a small, blue skirt and a green sweater. Her socks were striped white and green, and she had sparkling white shoes on. Clutched in her arms was a small stuffed wolf. What caught my attention most, however, was an emerald leaf necklace, dangling around her neck.

"Eli, may I introduce Ella Wolfe." Roman said

I frowned, puzzled, "Wolfe? Is she related to the Dr Sebastian Wolfe who helped Cole in New Marais?"

"No," Roman said "Rather, the last name is because of Luke."

I gave Roman a confused look "Who's Luke?"

Suddenly, a small grey blur leapt in front of Ella and growled at me. I recoiled in surprise; standing in front of me was a majestic Grey Wolf only a few months old. "That," Roman said "is Luke."

The wolf continued to growl at me, "Its okay Luke," Ella spoke up in a small voice "he won't hurt me."

Luke ceased his growling immediately and obediently sat. Ella stepped forward. She looked at me with curiosity, like I was a strange insect she had discovered. Then she spoke, "You're a Conduit too." It wasn't a question.

I blinked "_Too_?"

"Ella is also a Conduit," Roman explained, "She's had her powers since birth."

My eyes widened. "Where did you find her?"

"We didn't," Roman said "About 5 years ago, a woman came to us carrying a newborn infant and a wolf pup. She gave them both to us, saying that we were to raise them both if there was to be hope for the future. Before she left, she named the infant Ella Wolfe and the pup Luke."

"Luke?" I said in disbelief. "You mean _this_ Luke? He's 5 years old?" When Roman nodded I shook my head "That's not possible, he's got to de only a few month's old at the most."

"It's strange, I know." Roman agreed "But from what we can tell, his aging process has been slowed significantly, he now ages almost at the same rate as humans. I suspect that that woman has the same abilities as Ella."

"And what are Ella's abilities," I asked looking at Ella, curious.

"She possesses a… remarkable control over the anatomy of living organisms." Roman said "She can cure diseases-including the Plague-, change which traits are dominant, heal a person at remarkable speeds, which is how your wound healed so quickly, and she can activate a Conduit's powers." My eyes widened in shock at that, "Just being around her makes you stronger." Roman finished.

"She… she can do all that?" I gaped

"I can also sing." Ella said with a bright smile.

"So, now that you know about our cure, will you take up our proposition of killing MacGrath?" Roman asked.

"I… I need to think about it," I said shaking my head; this was all just too much to take in at once.

"Of course." Roman said with an understanding nod, "It is all a bit overwhelming, take all the time you need."

As he stood up Ella looked up at Roman with her big eyes "Can I come visit him?"

Roman smiled, "I suppose if Eli doesn't mind."

I smiled, "I'd like that." I said, a plan already coming together in my mind. The fact that the rebels had a cure for the Plague changed things. I refused to kill the man who raised me for these usurpers but I couldn't leave someone as powerful as Ella with them. Killing her was a last resort; her power could be very useful to Cole, yet if I kidnapped her, she would sick that wolf of hers on me. Plus I couldn't use my powers with this device on me although I had no doubt that Ella could safely remove it. That left only one option; befriend Ella and convince her to help me escape.

My smile broadened, "I'd like that a lot."

* * *

><p>Kuo:<p>

I landed in the alley where Eli's trail of blood stopped. Based on the large puddle, I guessed that Eli had collapsed and someone had taken his body away. Based on the nature of the Outskirts, I figured it wasn't just some Good Samaritan.

Cole teleported next to me, "Anything?"

I shook my head, "It looks like he collapsed and someone took him away."

Cole's red eyes flashed, "I can see the shapes of 3 people standing over Eli, two men, one woman. They all have guns. They're standing around, talking I suspect. Eli is barely alive it looks like." He continued on in a detached voice. "The woman is pointing her gun at Eli's head; one of the men steps forward and stops her. The man rolls Eli on his back and recoils. The woman points her gun at Eli again; the man stops her again and he puts something, a bandage I think, over Eli's wound and picks him up." Cole started walking down the alley, "They're leaving, I think they're getting into a-damn it!"

"What is it?" I asked, worried.

"They got into a car that's shielded from my senses." Cole said bitterly "I can't track them."

I frowned, "There's only one group who has cars shielded from your senses," I said darkly "And that means…"

"My son has been taken by the Human Resistance." Cole finished. "Come on," He said, walking away, "we should head back to the Tower and plan a sweep of the Outskirts."

"And what?" I said angrily "Leave Eli in the hands of the Resistance? Who knows what they'll do to him?"

Cole spun around and I could see the fire in his eyes, "And what do you propose we do? We can't track them like this. We need to gather our forces and prepare for an assault on these bastards. That's the only option." Cole's eyes softened when he saw my expression. "I'm worried about him to," he put his hand on my shoulder, "But Eli's tough, he'll be able to take care of himself. The best thing we can do for him now is make a sweep of the Outskirts and hope that we find the HR's base."

I nodded but didn't voice what I feared. I feared what Bertrand did to me when I was captured, and that now the Resistance might be doing the exact same thing, or worse, to Eli.

* * *

><p>Eli:<p>

"What's Cole like." Ella asked.

I smiled; this was the 7th time we've talked since my capture a week ago. "Well… he's a very stern father. He lays down rules and expects them to be followed. If there not, he punishes brutally."

"He doesn't sound very nice." Ella frowned.

"Then I'm not saying it right." I said, "He never hits me outside of sparring and he's not uncaring, he's just had to harden himself because of the difficult task of leading the Conduits."

"Roman says he's a bad man." Ella said.

"Roman's wrong," I said a little sharper than I intended. Softening my tone, I said "Cole sometimes has to make hard decisions and do hard things to protect his people, but he's not a bad man."

"Do you have a Mommy?" Ella asked, curiosity shining in her eyes.

I shook my head, "No,"

Ella cocked her head to one side "How can you have a Daddy and not a Mommy?"

I chuckled "That's not quite right, you see, Cole adopted me several years ago. I never actually knew my real mom and dad." As I said this, something occurred to me. "Actually, there is someone who has been like a mother to me."

Ella's eyes widened, "Really?"

I nodded, "Yeah, her name's Kuo. She pretty much raised me since I was 2 until Cole adopted me and even then, she still took care of me. I remember how, when I was little, she would tell me stories, sometimes about Cole's time in New Marais and other times she would read to me books we had looted from cities as I went to sleep."

A look of longing appeared in Ella's eyes, "Roman never reads to me." She mumbled.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise, "Never?" when Ella shook her head I felt pity for the girl well up inside me. She had never known the comfort of a parent's arms, never felt the safety of a parent's love. Suddenly, I had a clear picture of what her life with the humans has been. She was treated with suspicion and distrust because of what she was. They thought of her as a thing, not a little girl who's never known love.

I shook my head. _Focus Eli. She's a tool to use against the humans, nothing more._ Why didn't I really believe that? As I opened my mouth to say something comforting, the cell door burst open, causing Luke to leap off the bed and growl. Roman strode in, looking furious.

"Ella. Leave. Now." He snarled.

Ella looked at Roman in confusion. "But-"

"NOW!" Roman snapped, tears welled up in Ella's eyes and she ran out of the room, followed by Luke, slamming the door behind her.

I glared at Roman "That wasn't very nice." Roman grabbed my hair and yanked me off the bed. "Your friends are searching for you."

Hope sprung to life in my heart and I saw the door crack open, letting a bright blue eye look into the room. "So you think I had something to do with it?"

Roman's eyes narrowed, "I want your answer!"

"_Really_?" I said "You want my answer on whether or not I'll betray everyone I've ever known?" I smirked "I think even you can figure that one out."

Roman kneed me in the gut and yanked on my hair to keep me from collapsing. "I want you to think about you answer carefully Eli…"

"I have," I said bitterly "And I think that you don't really care about the humans do you? You just hate all Conduits."

"Of course I hate all Conduits! They are a blight on this world!" Roman snapped.

"Good to know, now if you would please release me, I won't have to hurt you." I said with a confident grin.

Roman laughed "You can't use your powers, remember? You're no threat to-" Before he could finish his sentence, I kneed Roman in the groin, twisted the wrist holding my hair, and slammed his head against the wall, knocking him unconscious.

"I don't need powers to be a threat." I said to Roman's unconscious form. I looked at the blue eye looking in to the room "You can come in now Ella."

Slowly, Ella opened the door and stepped into the cell with Luke. "He-He said he hated all Conduits," she looked at me with those big eyes "Did he mean me too?"

I nodded; even though it tore me up inside to see Ella's eyes tear up like that. "Listen, Ella," I knelt down to her eye level "I need you to get this device off me," I said; pointing to the device on the back of my neck, "Can you do that?"

Ella nodded and reached for the device, her hand surrounded by a green aura. I felt a sharp pain as the device was torn free. "Thanks," I said, standing up and igniting a ball of red fire in my hand to test my powers.

Ella looked at the ground while Luke went over to Roman's unconscious body and sniffed his head. "Listen, Eli…" Ella shuffled her feet "Can I... Can I come with you?"

I blinked in surprise; I was going to suggest the same thing. Even though I knew my answer already, I asked "Why do you want to come?"

Ella looked at Luke who was now poking his nose in Roman's ear. "Roman hates me. All the humans hate me. Maybe among other Conduits I'll find friends."

I smiled down at Ella and held out my hand, "Of course you can come."

Ella smiled back and took my hand, "Thanks Eli I- Luke no! Don't do _that_!" Ella spoke just in time to stop Luke from taking a piss on Roman. I chuckled despite myself; Luke was starting to grow on me.

As we left the cell I had spent the past week in, Ella asked "Do you think Kuo will read to me?"

I felt a strange, protective emotion well up inside me and, as I looked down at Ella's big, hopeful, eyes I said "If she doesn't, _I will_."

**A/N: Awwww, little manipulative Eli is feeling protective of poor innocent Ella. if some of Ella's comments** **on not feeling** **loved** **or my descriptions of her didn't make you want to tear up than, either I'm not doing something right or your just a cold bastard. Regardless, _REVIEW PLEASE!_  
><strong>


	4. Karmic Choice

**A/N: Finally! We're getting to the good stuff! I've been wanting to get to Philsburg for **_**FOREVER**_** and now we're getting close. As this chapter title clearly states, Eli is going to have to make a choice but he may not choose the one you were expecting…**

**Enough chit-chat! ACTION!**

4: Karmic Choices

Eli:

Alarms sounded and red lights flashed as soon as we stepped into the hallway. Over the speakers a cool voice said "**Warning! Warning! The Conduit has escaped! I repeat, the Conduit has esca-**" the voice cut off as I blasted the nearest speaker with a lightning bolt.

"Son of a…" I started to say but stopped when I became aware of Ella looking at me curiously. "Never mind." I said, pulling Ella along the metal corridor as Luke followed at our heels.

I heard the sound of boots on metal in front of us and, as we rounded a corner, I saw a dozen masked troops, each carrying a gun, running towards us. I readied a light grenade and tossed it onto the ground right in front of the troops, creating a blinding flash just after I closed my eyes. When I opened my eyes, I saw that the troops had been knocked over like bowling pins. Grabbing Ella's hand again, we sprinted off down the corridor. When the corridor split in 2 directions, I suddenly became aware that I had no idea where I was going.

I turned to Ella, "Which way to the exit?"

Ella studied the fork in the corridors for a moment then shrugged "I don't know," Luke raced into the left fork and turned back to us, barking urgently. Ella smiled "But Luke does!" she ran after her pet wolf, leaving me, dumbstruck in the intersection.

Finally I smiled, "That's one smart puppy."

* * *

><p>Sunny:<p>

"**We've still had no sight of Eli sir.**" One of the scouts said over Cole's radio.

Cole sighed and said into the radio, "Alright come on back, it looks like we won't find Eli today." He didn't pay attention to the scout's affirmative and instead looked at Kuo. "Why is it so hard to find one fucking hidden base in the Outskirts?" he said, annoyed.

Kuo wasn't paying attention, she was too busy fidgeting and looking out into the Outskirts from our vantage point of a rooftop in Bellawood. Cole gave an irritated sigh and went back to managing the scouts. I looked over at Ryan who was kneeling in the shadows, his eyes closed, a hand planted on a pitch black circle of darkness he had created. He was listening to the shadows.

I don't entirely understand it but from what he's told me, Ryan's relationship to the shadows is symbiotic, rather than my manipulative control over light. He says that the shadows see everything hidden and that he can listen to them whisper it. Also, though this rarely happens, Ryan sometimes hears whispers of the future. Most of the stuff he hears is utter garbage but there is a small chance that he will learn something useful.

Apparently he just did, because his eyes shot open at the exact same moment Cole dropped his radio. "What is it?" Kuo asked when she noticed.

Cole's eyes flashed, "I can… sense Eli." He said "He must have escaped the Resistance's base." Kuo nodded. She took out her own radio and start issuing orders when Cole spoke again.

"There's… something else."

Kuo looked at him, confused, "What?"

"I can sense someone with him," Cole said "A very powerful Conduit."

"Where?"

Cole pointed, "In an alley near Maria Plaza."

Kuo started issuing orders for the scouts to search Maria Plaza and when she was finished, she turned back to Cole. "We better get moving too," Cole nodded and they shot off into the city, Cole becoming a lightning bolt and Kuo turning into vapor.

I started to follow them but Ryan grabbed my arm, stopping me. "No," he said firmly.

I looked at him in surprise, "Eli's out there, we have to find him!"

Ryan shook his head "No, Eli will find us; we must be prepared to help him when he does."

I groaned, "You got another prophetic 'whisper of the future' didn't you?"

Ryan smirked, "Pretty much, I'll explain on the way."

* * *

><p>Eli:<p>

The exit was only guarded by 2 troops who were easily dispatched by another light grenade. Ella opened the door and I stepped through to find myself in an alleyway near a ruined plaza.

"Come on," I said to Ella as she closed the door behind Luke, leaving an ordinary wall concealing the hidden entrance and we raced down the alley to the plaza.

A large building had collapsed in the plaza, leaving only rubble. We made our way to a lone standing wall and hid, waiting for the pursuit I knew we must have.

"Eli?"

I spun around and saw Cole and Kuo standing on top of a large pile of rubble. The tension eased from my muscles. "I was wondering when you'd show up." I said with a smile.

Kuo smiled back while Cole merely nodded, "Others are on the way, we need to-" he stopped and charged a bolt of electricity.

I spun around and saw that Roman had come charging out of the alleyway with a dozen armored troops. Several, including Roman, were carrying Gatling guns. Roman stopped when he saw us. "MacGrath!"

"Yes?" Cole and I said at the same time. Cole glared at me and I smiled back. A smile twitched on Cole's lips and he turned back to Roman. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure, what is your name?"

"General Roman." Was the sharp reply.

Cole put on a fake smile and teleported down from the pile in a bolt of lightning. "And what do you want with my son?"

"Your 'son' stole something from me!" Roman snarled and he pointed at Ella, "That girl!"

Cole walked casually over to me and Ella, his eyes intently focused on Ella, "Ah, yes," Cole said coolly and his eyes flashed "the young Conduit." As Cole came near, Ella hid behind my legs. Cole turned back to Roman. "I'm afraid you'll have to find another one." He took several menacing steps toward Roman, letting fire and electricity crack around him for show. "Unless you and your little thugs think you can take on _the Beast_?"

"Eli," Ella whispered to me "Eli I don't like him. He scares me."

"Its okay Ella," I whispered back, "it's all just for show." As I said it, I couldn't help feeling like I was trying to reassure myself as much as her. Still I continued, "He won't hurt you."

"Oh that's where you're wrong Eli." Cole said darkly, turning his head to look at us. "I'm afraid I'll have to kill dear Ella."

I recoiled and stepped in front of Cole and Ella. "What?"

"She's a threat that cannot be allowed to exist." Cole said, advancing on us.

I started backing away from Cole and Kuo toward Roman. "A threat? Ella wouldn't hurt a fly."

"Actually I did step on one once." Ella said obviously trying to lighten the mood.

"Not helping." I whispered to her. I looked at Cole, "Ella's powers lie in healing! She can cure the Plague! She can activate Conduits!"

"Cole, maybe we should listen to him," Kuo said

"I did not ask for your opinion!" Cole snapped. My eyes widened, he had never talked to Kuo like that. Cole regained his composure "Sorry about that," he said kindly to Kuo. He turned back to me. "Her powers are still underdeveloped; she is a danger to everyone if she learns to control them completely. She must be killed." He advanced more quickly on us, red electricity crackling along his arms.

"Stay back!" I said stretching out my arm and charging a lightning bolt. Cole stopped in his tracks, surprise in his eyes. "I won't let you hurt her!" I snarled and something strange happened, the normally purple lightning in my hands began to change color to gold. Then back again to purple. Then gold. I blinked; _well that's different._ I filed this away as a mystery to be solved another day and continued to back away from Cole.

"You see!" Roman said, stepping forward. "He wishes to kill a little girl; this is proof that he's a monster! Together, we can stop him! Just give us Ella and-" he stopped when Luke stepped up to my side and growled.

I saw that I was halfway between Cole and Roman. I had 2 choices, I could give Ella to Cole and let him kill her, or I could betray everything I've ever known and send Ella back to that prison of a life that I was trying to rescue her from. No matter what I choose, Ella pays for it. I wanted only what's best for Ella, is that too much to ask? Then, as I stood there, praying for a solution, one came to me.

"I'm not going to give Ella to either of you!" I said defiantly.

Cole took a step forward "Eli…" he said threateningly.

"You want to kill her!" I said as we backed away, Luke and me still shielding Ella. I turned to Roman, "And all you care about is her powers, not about the girl!"

Roman stammered, "I- I never-"

I'm taking her away from all of you!" I said angrily "And if you come after us with the intention of taking her I will not hesitate to kill you!"

"Eli, please," Cole pleaded with me "it doesn't have to be this way."

"Are you changing your mind?" I asked.

"No,"

"Then I'm afraid it does." I generated a large light grenade and hurled it at Cole. I grabbed Ella and Luke and shielded them from the large explosion.

When I turned back I saw that I had been lucky in catching them by surprise. Everyone, including Cole who, although incredibly durable, was at the center of the blast, was knocked unconscious. Gesturing Ella and Luke to follow, we raced off into the rubble, leaving any pursuit, and my whole life, behind.

* * *

><p>That night, we reached the edge of the Outskirts. I slowed down to a walk and looked around for a place to hide for the night. I found an abandoned ruin that provided excellent shelter. I entered the ruin and saw that it was darker than the night outside. I ignited a ball of light to illuminate the ruin and found that it barely lit up my hand. Puzzled, I was about to leave when I felt a finger tap my shoulder. I spun around and the light in my hand lit up Ryan's smirking face.<p>

"Hey, Eli," he said casually. "Where ya going?" the shadows fell away and left the room in its normal lighting.

I didn't lower my guard however. "Why are you here Ryan?"

Ryan smiled, "to help you of course!"

I blinked, "Why?"

Ryan put his arm around my shoulder, "I'm your best friend, I'll stick by you no matter what. Now come on, Sunny's outside waiting for us."

We found Sunny holding Luke and talking to Ella. She smiled when she saw us "About time, I was about to start gossiping with Ella if you didn't show yourselves soon."

Ella smiled at me, "Your girlfriend's nice Eli."

Sunny and I blushed "We're not…"

Ella smiled slyly at me causing me to blush more. "Come on," Ryan said "I want to show ya something."

He led us to a side street where, parked in front of a car dealership, was an RV. I raised my eyebrows, "Do you even know how to drive?"

Ryan smiled "Of course, I taught myself." He entered the RV.

I exchanged a skeptical look with Sunny but followed Ryan inside. It was fairly old even though it appeared to be a newer model. Ella and Luke seemed to love it though, because they ran in and jumped on a wall couch. Sunny closed the door behind her and I heard a rumble as, up front, Ryan stuck a key in the ignition. I went up to the front and sat in the passenger seat.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"East,"

**A/N: Surprised? I thought that Eli creating his own option rather than choosing between 2 options would be interesting. I have one more thing to say: please Review! I've** **had 1 Review! 1! it would really make me happy if more people reviewed and said what they think of my story! And Please be kind!**


	5. Road Trip

**A/N: A huge, HUGE thank you to everyone who's reviewed. You're all awesome! I apologize in advanced if this chapter is a little short; I originally wasn't going to post a chapter for a while to allow my muse a break but all your comments have revitalized me. This chapter will be used to establish the Feral; one of the more interesting antagonist factions of my story, and to explain Eli's lightning changing color.**

5: Road Trip

_Before our escape, I had never seen a Feral. Now I wish that was still true. The Feral are large, monstrous creatures, some resemble a cross between a giant spider and a tiger, others look like demonic teddy bears (seriously, it's creepy). Some have wings, others have fins. It's like someone took evolution and royally screwed it over. We encountered the Feral often, usually forcing us to take a different road. Although I never said anything, I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being herded, though to what I didn't know._

_Over the mountains and across the plains, we fled. Ryan turned out to be a semi-competent driver and we only had to get out and push a couple of times. As we traveled, I noticed myself changing. Not only had my lightning changed its color to gold, but my fire as well, had changed its color from its original blood red, to a vibrant blue. My appearance also started to change. No longer was my skin pale, instead, it took on a healthy color; a farmers tan marked my skin from my increased time in the sun. Sunny and Ryan noticed the changes but never said anything, although I caught Sunny staring at me more than once. This caused a strange sensation in my gut, like fluttering butterflies, and I couldn't help but stare at her sometimes too. This apparently amused Ella to no end. Sometimes I think that girl likes embarrassing me._

* * *

><p>Ryan:<p>

"Go talk to her." I heard Ella whisper to Eli.

"What? No!" Eli blushed, "I mean, why would I want to talk to her? There's no real reason to."

"Because you _like_ her." Ella whispered, causing Eli to turn cherry red.

"I- I do not!"

I smirked and rolled my eyes as I pulled into a highway. I had long suspected that Eli had a small crush on Sunny but had decided that he was safer being just friends. How Ella picked up on his little infatuation was a little bit of a puzzle but I suspected it had something to do with her powers. I remember how the shadows had whispered that Ella's potential was far greater than my own, and how they had warned that she would be very dangerous if she reached that potential. In this respect, I agree with Cole, Ella should be killed but, unfortunately that was not my decision to make.

I risked a quick glance back at where Eli and Ella were sitting on the couch, talking with Luke between them while Sunny was in the bathroom. Eli was wearing a clean red shirt and a pair grey jeans that I had snatched from his room along with his other clothes and his "board" before we fled town. It didn't escape my notice that Eli looked better than he had in years, not necessarily happier but definitely healthier. I swear that streak of gold in his bangs was shining. _It's that girl_, I thought bitterly. _She's having some kind of effect on Eli, that's why his lightning and fire have changed color._ If I had my way, it would be just the 3 of us, no Ella or her pet wolf Luke. Not that I had anything against Ella, I just miss the fun we used to have without a little girl tagging along.

I looked around at my surroundings. We were in some mountains in central Pennsylvania, near Philsburg if I had to guess. If the Feral don't drive us off, Philsburg will be the first big city we've passed through since we left Conduit City 2 weeks ago. Our cross country road trip had taken longer than anticipated because of the feral driving us away from every major city we neared. That meant that pursuit would have ample time to start chasing us, and I had no doubt that it had…

* * *

><p>Kuo:<p>

I entered Cole's room. It had been 2 days since Eli escaped with the girl and Cole had barely spent 5 seconds in one place as he scoured the city until he had determined that Eli had left the city. Now he was putting on a long, white coat over black a shirt and pants, an outfit very similar to the descriptions of Kessler I had read. Did it disturb me that Cole was dressing almost identically to his worst enemy? Yes. Did I care? No. All I cared about is that Eli had run right into the one foe that even Cole feared.

"You're leaving?" I asked Cole as he finished putting the coat on.

"Yes," Cole said, turning to me. "Eli has taken the biggest threat to me I've ever seen and run straight to that nutcase bitch."

"Do you really think that she still holds a grudge after all this time?" I asked crossing my arms across my chest.

"Yes, she's insane." Cole said darkly, "She won't rest until she has taken total revenge for what I-and Kessler-did to her." Cole put on his pack and strapped the Amp, one of the few things he kept as a reminder of Zeke, and started out the door. "If she gets Eli and that girl, she will have all the ammunition she needs to finish me off."

"Then I'm coming with you." I said sharply.

Cole spun around "No. I need you here to keep the city under control."

"Anderson can do that. If you're going up against her, then you'll need my help." My expression softened "You're not the only one who cares about Eli."

Cole turned around, "I'm not doing this for Eli." He mumbled before he left.

I rolled my eyes; I knew that underneath that cold exterior, Cole really did care about Eli as much as I did. I knew however, that he would never admit it so I followed him without saying a word.

**A/N: So that's chapter 5, if you think you've figured out who has a grudge against Cole, then pm me please, I'd like to see if I gave enough hints while still being slightly subtle. Also, yes, I am considering a romance between Eli and Sunny; I'm also considering a romance between Eli and a character I will probably introduce in the next chapter. Finally, if you have a problem with the way I am portraying Cole and Kuo then please, either pm me or put it in a review, or even if you think that I'm doing a good job with them. And don't worry if your confused a little by me making the shadows seem sentient, I will explain it along with Ryan's relationship with the shadows in more detail later.**


	6. Philsburg

6: Philsburg

_"There it is," Ryan said as we looked down at the city from a mountaintop nearby. "Welcome to Philsburg."_

_The city was located in a small valley between 2 mountains. The towering skyscrapers of downtown were situated on a peninsula that was formed by a fork in the river that cut through the city. On one side of the river, factories that once blew clouds of black smoke now lay dormant while newer buildings sprouted between them: former offices of once prominent companies. There was even a giant, neon ketchup bottle on one of the large warehouses. On the other side there were run down houses and other buildings covered with graffiti. On the mountains on either side were hundreds of houses going up the slopes. If one looked down the river, one could see the empty structures of the nuclear reactors of 3½ mile island. The small fires and occasional electric light were all that showed that people still lived here…_

* * *

><p>Eli:<p>

The RV rolled into the city on an abandoned bridge littered with cars. Sunny, Ryan, and I sat up front while Ella and Luke looked out at the ruin of a city with wonder. We passed an overturned truck that was half hanging off the bridge. As we drove off the bridge and entered the industrial area, I saw people scurrying into alleys as they saw us. I frowned, why were they so scared of us? Then I saw it: spray painted on the side of a building was a huge' bloodstained skull with a flaming spear piercing it vertically. Below it in black letters it read: FEAR VEREOR.

I raised my eyebrows; creepy graffiti with ominous warnings is _never_ a good sign. Ryan drove us through the narrow, deserted streets as I kept my eye out for this Vereor that seemed to like to leave scary warnings everywhere. We occasionally saw dead bodies lying in the streets and I saw Sunny instinctively shield Ella's eyes. Finally, Ryan pulled the RV into an alley and stopped.

"We're low on fuel." He said looking at us. "If we want to keep going were going to have to find a gas station that hasn't been raided."

"And where do you propose we find that?" I asked. "This entire place looks like it's been raided."

Ryan shrugged and grabbed a fuel container. "I don't know, but I think that only I should go. I can hide myself much more easily than you and Sunny."

I nodded and Ryan went to the RV door. As soon as he had left the vehicle I went over to the others and picked up Luke. The pup settled in my arms happily and went to sleep. Ella looked at the door curiously for a minute and then got down from the couch and started to open it before Sunny stopped her.

"What are you doing?" Sunny asked angrily.

"I feel something outside," Ella said "Like a starved animal."

I looked at Ella, confused. "What do you mean you _feel_ something?"

"I… I can sense when a living thing is near and I can tell what its condition is." Ella said, "This feels like an animal on the verge of starvation."

Before I could question Ella more, there was a loud bang and someone ripped the door open. Sunny yanked Ella behind her and a ball of light appeared in her hand. Luke leapt from my arms and growled at the intruder while I lit balls of fire in my hands. The intruder was a man with skin an unhealthy shade of green, his eyes small and white. His mouth hung open, showing that he was missing some of his yellow teeth. In his hand he held a knife.

"Get out!" he snarled. "Or your pal gets his neck slit!" another man came into view holding a knife to a beat up Ryan's throat. The look in Ryan's eyes pleaded with us to comply.

Slowly, Sunny led Ella out of the RV while I picked up Luke and followed. "Good," the thug said once we were all out, "Now line up against the wall. And none of your little Conduit tricks!"

We were shoved up against the wall along with Ryan as several other thugs entered the RV. "What happened?" I asked Ryan.

"They jumped me as I was leaving the alley, took me completely by surprise." Ryan said bitterly.

"No talking!" the thug snarled "Or I'll- Aggghhh!" he cried out in pain as a small metal bolt planted itself firmly in his eye and he fell to the ground.

I looked down in the direction where the bolt had come from and saw a hooded figure in a long dark grey jacket and pants concealed by the shadows holding a modern crossbow aimed at the thugs. The figure fired another bolt into another of the unsuspecting thugs, leaving only the thugs inside the RV. Our rescuer ran forward I time to jab a bolt into the skull of a thug who emerged from the door.

He turned to us and pulled down his hood to reveal a man in his mid-50s with a grey beard, long, untidy grey hair and piercing grey eyes. His face was worn yet strong. As he studied us I felt like he was staring into my soul. "Are you alright?" he asked briskly.

Before I could answer, the last thug exited the RV and was about to stab our rescuer in the back when the old man spun around and fired a bolt, point-blank, between the eyes of the thug. He turned back to our stunned faces and again, "Are any of you hurt?"

I shook my head, still too stunned to speak. Fortunately, Ryan spoke up for me. "Who are you?"

The old man smiled at Ryan, "That is a question many a man in the Vereor would like answered, but you may call me Archer,"

I glanced at the crossbow in Archer's hand, "What's up with the medieval weapon."

Archer held up the crossbow for all to see, "Oh, this? It's a handy weapon if you want to have both range and silence although it's slow to load if let unmodified." He gestured inside the RV. "Come, this is not a safe place."

We went inside the RV and Archer sat down in the driver's seat, starting up the vehicle. "Um… Where are you taking us?" I asked as Archer pulled the RV out of the alley and drove off down the road.

"Somewhere safe," was all Archer said.

"We're low on fuel," Ryan pointed out.

"We're not going far." Archer said briskly.

He pulled into a small garage a few blocks away and turned off the engine. He stood up and turned to us. "Grab any possessions you need and follow Me." With that he opened the door and left.

I grabbed my clothes and stuffed them into a pack we had picked up in a small town we had passed through on our way here while the others did the same with their own clothes. Slinging the bag over my shoulder and grabbing my board, I followed Archer out the RV to where he was standing in a corner of the garage. Once we were all assembled, Archer knelt down and pressed his hand to the garage floor. There was a green glow under his palm and a small section of the floor slid open to reveal a ladder down a dark hole.

Archer nodded for me to go first and I lowered myself into the hole and started climbing down. When I reached the bottom, I took a step back and allowed Ella, who was right behind me, reach the bottom followed by Sunny and Ryan, who was carrying Luke. Archer came down last, closing the trap door behind himself. When he reached the bottom, Archer pulled out a flashlight and flicked it on to reveal that we were standing in a long tunnel.

"Come on," Archer said, starting down the tunnel, "my safe house isn't far."

As we walked down the tunnel I asked, "How did this get here?"

"It was part of an old underground network of tunnels that lead to an old First Sons base originally." Archer replied, "The base is now used as my safe house."

"You know about the First Sons?" I asked, surprised.

Archer looked back at me and flashed a small smile, "I was one of them."

I stopped in my tracks for a second, surprised, and then continued to follow Archer. "So… you're a Conduit?"

Archer laughed bitterly, "No, I was just a grunt. A person doesn't need powers to be an expert at killing people."

I winced, chastised. "So how did you manage to seize a First Son base?"

"I didn't need to," Archer explained, "It was already abandoned when I found it."

"And why are you helping us?" Sunny asked.

"You're Conduits." Archer said matter-of-factly, "You might be able to make a difference in this city."

I frowned, "What do you mean?"

"I'll tell you later." Archer said as we stopped in front of a large metal door. Archer placed his palm on the door and a small panel glowed green as it scanned his hand. The door slid open and Archer stepped inside.

I followed him in and looked around in awe at the First Son base. It was large, with a high ceiling. The floor was littered with equipment and the walls were lined with high-tech machines. Several other doors were place randomly around the room and a staircase led up to a second floor that was piled high with machines and other random devices. 3 more doors were located on the second floor and high up, near the ceiling, an observation room overlooked the room through a large glass window.

"Welcome," Archer said waving his warm in a large sweeping display of the room, "to my home."

He looked up at the second floor, "Leo! Maria! Get down here! We have company!"

A small Latino boy of about 11 years with hair that stuck up in strange places poked his head out of a pile of rubble on the second floor with a broad smile on his face. He raced down the steps faster than I could blink and vigorously shook my hand. "Hi! I'm Leo!" he said so fast I almost didn't catch it. He released my hand and said eagerly. "Who are you? Orphan? Refugee? Strange creature from outer space? Oooh, look! More people!" He exclaimed happily when he saw Sunny, Ryan and Ella. He raced over to them and energetically introduced himself before barraging them with questions so fast that they didn't have time to even get a word in.

I whispered to Archer "Has this kid had a lot of caffeine recently?"

Archer chuckled, "Sadly no, he's just always this hyper when he's exited." He walked over to where Leo was picking up a rather annoyed looking Luke and say how cute the poor wolf pup was in a cooing voice.

"Leo," Archer said calmly, putting a hand on the kid's shoulder and stopping him in mid sentence. "Where is your sister?"

Leo shrugged and put Luke down- much to the wolf's relief –and said in a voice slow enough that I could actually understand what he said "I don't know, probably working on some freaky gizmo in her workshop."

Archer went over to the steps and called up "Maria! We have company! Drop whatever strange contraption you're working on now and get your rear end down here!"

I heard a door on the second floor slam open and a female voice with a Mexican accent said "I'm coming! I'm coming you _irritante anciano_!" a beautiful Latino girl, roughly 16 years old with her wavy black hair tied back in a high pony tail to keep it from getting caught in whatever it is she was working on, came into view as she walked down the steps, cleaning her elegant hands with a rag.

She noticed us and gave me a polite nod. "_Buenos días_, I'm Maria." She stuck out her now mostly clean hand and I unconsciously shook it, still awed by her slim, curvy frame. She wore an orange tank top with a message in Spanish I could not read on the front. The top showed a modest amount of her cleavage and her tight jeans fit her waist perfectly.

I soon discovered that I was gawking and I quickly closed my mouth as I released the handshake. I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks as I fumbled with my words, "Um… I'm -I'm Eli…" I managed to blurt out.

Maria rolled her eyes and introduced herself to the others while I did my best to make myself look as small as possible. When everyone had been introduced Archer clapped his hands and said "Alright, now that we're all acquainted, let's give you the grand tour."

He led us up to the second floor. Through one of the doors was a workshop that was littered with half completed devices. Through another door were 2 large bathrooms; one for men and the other for women. Behind the last door was a flight of stairs that led up to the observation room. The observation room was occupied by a table with several chairs around it. Another door in the observation room led to the rest of the base which included the men's and woman's quarters, kitchen, training room, lounge, and offices. In a large square briefing room which was the intersection for these rooms, was a large 3-D holographic model of Philsburg propped up on a rectangular table surrounded by chairs and a couch. It was here that Archer settled us down after showing us around the base and we had dropped off our bags in the Quarters.

Archer looked around at us. I was sitting in a chair on the right side of the map from where Archer was seated at the head. Sunny shared the couch with Ella and Luke while Ryan sat in the chair opposite me. Leo sat next to Ryan in the chair and bounced in his seat while Maria was seated as far away from the rest of us as possible at the opposite head of the map, looking irritated for being forced to be here.

"I'm sure your wondering why I brought you here," Archer said as he fixed his gaze on me. "Your arrival happens to be strangely fortunate. You see, for over 5 years I have been attempting to stop the Vereor from taking control with little success. They have managed to seize control of almost the entire city. Only a small portion of the residential areas are free of them because of a small militia of ex-cops and soldiers who have banded together. You see, they-"

"I'm sorry," I interrupted "But who are the Vereor?"

Archer nodded, "I was just about to get to that. Vereor is the Latin word for fear. You may have seen their slogan graffitied on walls across the city: fear Vereor. In other words: fear Fear. They're a gang of vicious thugs who are run by a cruel man named Carver Smith. They first appeared 7 years ago, fleeing the Feral and the Conduits."

"Who is this Carver Smith?" Sunny asked.

"He's usually just called Carver." Archer explained, "I don't know all the details but apparently he managed to escape the destruction of his home city by the Beast. He gathered other survivors from other cities that had lost everyone they knew and formed an army of revenge. Before he could challenge the Conduits however, the Feral appeared and drove them away from the Conduits to Philsburg. I arrived here with Maria and Leo roughly a year after they did. When Carver started his campaign to seize control of the city I took it upon myself to stop him.

"When my vigilante acts started to be noticed, the Vereor gave me the name 'Archer' because of my crossbow. Before that, I went by the name of Garret but after a while I started to prefer Archer. I felt that it fit me better. Anyways, for all my hard work, I was just one man and I couldn't stop the Vereor by myself. They've been in power for over 3 years now and the most I've been able to do is annoy them." His piercing eyes met mine "That's where you come in."

I looked at him, puzzled "What do you mean?"

"You're a Conduit." Archer stated.

I saw Maria sit up straight and fix me with a hard gaze while Leo looked at me in awe. "Yeah," I said wearily "what does that have to do with anything?"

"Are you aware of the Beast's past in Empire city and New Marais?" Archer asked.

"Yeah…" I exchanged a look with Sunny and Ryan before saying, "Cole- the Beast, is my adopted father."

Archer raised his eyebrows in a cross between amusement and surprise while Leo's jaw landed in his lap. What caught my attention most, however, was Maria's reaction; she visibly tensed and her face hardened as she glared at me, eyes full of anger and hatred.

"Really?" Archer said, "Then I take it your aware of the effect he had on both cities? How he routed the Reapers and Dust Men in Empire while driving the First Sons from the city. And how he defeated the Militia in New Marais. _That's_ what I'm talking about."

"You want us to be superheroes?" Ryan asked, his eyes lighting up.

"Well first I need to know what powers you each posses." Archer said "Then I can see how to best apply you in our fight against the Vereor."

"Now hold on a sec-" Maria started to say but Ryan cut her off.

"I can manipulate shadows," He said eagerly "I'm great at stealth and surveillance." He pointed to me "and Eli can control plasma, like lightning and fire and stuff. And Sunny can control light."

Archer nodded, "That could be use-"

Ryan interrupted Archer "And Ella can cure the Plague!"

A silence fell over the room as Archer, Leo, and Maria stared at Ella in surprise. Finally, Archer spoke up. "This is… This is an interesting turn of events." He looked at Ryan, "You say she can _cure _the Plague?" When Ryan nodded Archer bowed his head and whispered so quietly that I could barely make out the words, "Could it be? After all these years…" he raised his head and spoke louder. "This is indeed good news. Come, I will test your abilities in the training room and then we'll-"

"Hold on a minute!" Maria said angrily, getting to her feet. "Are you seriously considering working with _Conduits_? Have you forgotten what the Beast did?"

"No Maria, I have not." Archer said sternly, "And I think you forget that not _all_ Conduits are to blame for what happened to your parents." He fixed her with an intense stare but Maria would not be intimidated.

"Don't you give me that 'it's not there fault' crap!" Maria pointed at me "He's the Beast's _son_ for _Cristo_ sake! How can you trust him?"

Archer stood up and crossed his arms over his chest "I highly doubt that the Beast would just allow his son to wander the country with a cure for the Plague. I believe that he's on the run. We need only fear any pursuit that he may have."

Maria threw her arms up in defeat. "Fine! When he stabs you in the back, don't come crying to me!" she stormed out off the room, mumbling angrily under her breath, _"Tonto anciano! Tú estás va a obtener EU todo matado usted idiota! Pozo , No soy va a sentarse sin hacer nada y espera ser matarife_!"

After she had left, Leo looked around uncertainly and the rushed out the door after his sister. "What's her problem?" I asked.

Archer sighed, "She's just bitter. Don't worry, she warm up to you eventually." He gestured to the door that led to the training room. "Come on, we've got work to do."

**A/N: So that's the end of chapter 6. What did you think of Archer, Leo, and Maria? I used an online translator for Maria's Spanish parts. Philsburg is a combination of Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Harrisburg. As always, please Review! I love hearing what people think of my story. **


	7. Vigilante 101

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, I got a little distracted when I discovered this **_**amazing**_** series called Firefly that was on Fox back in 2002 which unfortunately got canceled because, while really good, too few people watched it or were like me and didn't discover it until after its cancelation. Sorry, I'm getting off track. The point is that I'm back now so without further ado, on with the show!**

7: Vigilante 101

Eli:

I sat down on a bench outside the training room. My face was drenched in sweat and I was panting. Archer's idea of a 'training' room was covered with hazardous devices, combat robots that just so happened to be versed in over 300 different forms of martial arts, and wall mounted turrets loaded with paintball pellets that felt like real bullets when you were hit. Of course, Archer maintained that it was perfectly safe; of course, he could probably maneuver through it with out even getting lightly touched once in less than 15 seconds.

Next to me sat Ryan and Sunny, just as tired as I was. We were battered, bruised and covered in paint. And for all our hard work, Archer just stood in front of us, looking disappointed. "I expected that you'd be better at this." He fixed his gaze on Ryan, "Your use of stealth was impressive but you were incompetent when it comes to combat." He then looked at Sunny, "You seem to lack any skill when it comes to anything other than creating shields and light balls."

"Fuck… you…" Sunny said in between gasps.

Archer ignored her and turned to look at me finally. "Of the three of you, Eli is the most capable for what I have in mind. You possess the best combat abilities though you seem to lack any sense of subtlety." He sighed and shook his head. "I'll admit I had hoped for better, but maybe I was giving you unfair expectations." He gestured to the door at the far end of the hallway that led back to the briefing room. "Go wash up and get some rest. Eli, tomorrow night, you and I will go out and I'll show you the ropes of how to be a pain in the Vereor's ass."

Back in the men's quarters, I collapsed on one of the many beds. Leo sat down on the bunk across from me and smiled. "You're really a Conduit? That's awesome! I would love to be a Conduit. Of course then I would be hunted like a freak by almost every non-Conduit in the world, but it would still be cool!"

I groaned at Leo's constant chatter and buried my head in the bed's pillow. I heard Ryan sit down on the bed next to mine "Do you _ever_ shut up kid?"

"Nope!" Leo said cheerfully "Maria says it's why nobody likes me but I think she's just jealous. She clearly has issues with people; she never talked to anyone when we were traveling with Archer from our grandparents' home in Mexico. Archer said it was because she was so hurt about what happened to our parents that she…" his voice trailed off and he became silent.

Curious, I raised my head and saw that Leo was now sitting quietly, looking depressed. "What happened to your parents?"

Leo shuffled on the bed and then looked at the digital clock hanging on the wall, "Oh, would you look at the time! I'm going to bed!" he raced over to a bed with colorful, hand woven sheets and jumped into it, feigning sleep.

I glanced at the clock, it read: 7:13 pm. I shot Ryan a puzzled glance and he shrugged. Sitting up on the bed, I asked, "What do you think happened to their parents?"

Ryan shrugged, "Beats me. Maybe they died from the Plague."

I shook my head, "No, Maria seemed to blame Cole for whatever happened to them."

Ryan's eyes widened, "You don't think…?"

A guilty feeling swelled in my chest, "I'll ask Maria tomorrow. I'm sure she'll want to vent to someone."

* * *

><p>That night I had a dream:<p>

_I was standing in a cluttered lab while a familiar woman was standing in front of a speaker lying on a table. Even without the blue hair and eyeliner, or the chilly aura around her, I recognized her instantly: Kuo._

_There was a deep, sturdy, male voice coming from the speaker. "Sorry for the radio silence."_

"_John, what's happening up there?" Kuo asked concern in her voice._

"_Tell Wolfe his invention is a big success." John said bitterly._

_Kuo's eyes widened. "The Ray Sphere…" she whispered._

_I could almost see John nodding. "Kessler sent it out by courier, to one of his labs I thought, but...he must have set the timer."_

"_God…" Kuo said in horror._

"_It was like a bomb." John said gravely "Five, six city blocks reduced to rubble, corpses everywhere. But there was this kid right in the center of the crater." There was a pause. "He had survived."_

"_A Conduit?" Kuo asked, interested._

"_Oh, yeah. A strong one."_

_Kuo shook her head. "I don't believe in coincidences. He's got to have some connection with Kessler."_

"_I agree, he's definitely a person of interest. I'm watching him." John said in reply. There was another pause before John spoke again. "One more thing, there's a lot of Conduits cropping up, far more then Wolfe predicted. The city's full of them."_

The vision faded into black and I awoke with a start.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Leo led me and Ryan to the observation room. Seated around the table were Sunny, Archer, and Ella. As we sat down, I smirked as I noticed that Luke was seated on Ella's lap while Ella occasionally sneaked a piece of bacon from the table and fed it to him.<p>

"Good morning," Archer said pleasantly, handing me a plate full of bacon, eggs, and sausage.

I gratefully accepted the plate and asked, "Where did you get all this food?"

Archer smiled, "Raids on the Vereor. Most of the food I steal I give to the few shelters that are under the rebel militia's protection but I do keep some for us."

I looked around and saw that Maria was nowhere in sight. Puzzled, I asked "Hey, where's Maria?"

Archer sighed and put his fork down. "She's in her workshop. She normally avoids eating with us and spends all day cooped up in there, working on God knows what."

I got up and started toward the door. "I'm going to talk to her."

Archer shook his head. "I wouldn't recommend that. She can get a little violent when people enter her workshop without permission."

"I'll be careful," I said with a grin as I left the room. I made my way down the steps to the second floor of the large garage (as I had started to call it) and I went to the door that led to the workshop. "Hello?" I called as I entered the workshop. I heard a click and then a shuriken embedded itself in the door less than an inch from my head. I turned in the direction that the shuriken had come from and saw Maria pointing a very strange device at me that looked like a cross between a slingshot and a gun.

"What do you want Conduit?" she said angrily.

"Well hello to you to." I said with a smile.

"What do you want _culo_?"

"To talk." I said as I pulled the shuriken out of the door.

"I don't talk to Conduits." She said sharply as she put the weapon down. "It's a waste of time."

I closed the door. "I wanted to talk about why you hate Conduits."

I started to approach her and she immediately pulled out a pocketknife. She pressed a button on the case and a small buzz saw flipped out, and started spinning. "That is none of your business."

Undeterred by the buzz saw I said "Your parents died in a Blast didn't they?"

Maria's eyes widened first in shock and then narrowed in anger. She pressed another button on the pocketknife case and the buzz saw retracted to be replaced by a foot-long blade that had been folded in half and now unfolded itself into its full length. She grabbed my shirt with one had and pushed me up against a wall, pressing the blade against my throat with the other hand.

"Listen," I said calmly "You're not alone in this, Sunny's parents were also killed in a Blast that's no reason to-"

"My parents didn't die in a Blast." Maria said darkly. I gaped at Maria. "My _padre_ went to Toluca on a business trip and when the Beast arrived in the city, my _padre_ was turned into a Conduit." Maria continued in a venomous voice. "He turned his back on my family and joined the Conduits. When my _madre _found out she went after him, leaving me and my newborn baby brother with our grandparents in a small village in the middle of nowhere. When she finally caught up with him, my _madre_ tried to convince my_ padre_ to come home with her, and you know what happened? Your '_father_' convinced _padre_ to kill _madre._ When _padre_ realized what he had done, he attacked the Beast in a fit of rage and was killed." Her eyes were brimmed with tears and filled with a burning hatred. "I lost my parents to your 'father' and his _maldito_ Conduits. _That_ is why I hate Conduits. And _that_ is why I'll never trust you." She released me and pointed at the door. "Now. Get. Out."

Too stunned to respond, I ran out the door as fast as I could to find that Archer was standing outside, his arms folded across his chest. "I warned you." He said sternly. "What did you say to her?"

I rubbed where Maria's blade had pressed against my neck, "I, uh… I asked her about her parents."

Archer raised his eyebrows, "I'm surprised you don't have a knife in your gut." He smiled "That's good. That means she likes you."

I glared at him "Yeah, we're _real_ good friends." I said sarcastically.

Archer chuckled and put his arm around my shoulder. "Don't worry, her bitter feelings will fade with time." He led me back up to the observation room which was now empty. "Come on," he said "I'll show you some of the gadgets Maria has created for me over the years."

He led me over to the offices and toward one office in particular that, on a gold plated sign on the door read: Project Head's Office. Archer opened the door and ushered me inside. Once Archer closed the door behind himself I looked around the office. There was a bed in one corner and pushed against the wall was a desk cluttered with so much gear that I couldn't see the wood top underneath. On a rack nailed to the wall above the desk was the crossbow I saw Archer use yesterday along with several other various kinds of crossbows and a case filled with metal bolts.

Archer went over to the desk and lifted his crossbow from the rack. He turned and handed it to me. "That little girl was the first thing Maria modified for me. I got her when I was thirteen from my father as a gift. From a young age I was a talented marksman with a pistol." At my surprised expression Archer smiled. "Don't be too surprised; with the right modifications a pistol can be as accurate as a rifle at long distance. Anyways, he decided to give me a pistol crossbow, saying that it was the perfect weapon for me. I took it with me when I joined the First Sons, and I kept it after I left when Kessler detonated the Ray Sphere. Maria modified it, equipping it with magazines that can hold up to 20 bolts so I don't have to reload after every shot."

Archer took the crossbow from me and handed me another strange gadget, explaining its works. This went on for hours and afterwards, Archer took me to the briefing room and used the map to detail what we would be that night. The Vereor would be receiving a shipment of supplies in Downtown. Archer and I were to intercept the shipment and steal the supplies before the Vereor got them. Archer told me to get some rest while he spent the rest of the day training Sunny and Ryan.

Reluctantly, I went back to the men's quarters to find Leo holding my board. "What are you doing!" I cried as I rushed over and yanked the board out of his hand.

"Why do you have a sheet of metal?" he asked curiously.

"It's my board." I explained grouchily "I pump lightning through it an shoot fire out the end and I can shoot across rooftops faster than… um, well, just fast."

Leo cocked an eyebrow, "A little cumbersome isn't it?"

"Maybe but its better than nothing." I admitted reluctantly.

Leo smiled and snatched the board back. "I think I can fix that." When I raised my eyebrow Leo only said "Maria's not the only inventor in the family."

* * *

><p>Philsburg looked different at night. There were few electric lights and the only other light came from fires across the city. This ill lighting allowed me and Archer to make our way across the rooftops unseen. Archer was wearing a dark hooded coat and pants and a larger crossbow rifle with a scope attached and a quiver were slung across his back. I was wearing a black hoodie and dark grey pants with a combat knife strapped to my belt.<p>

We made our way to a low rooftop that overlooked a narrow street. "The supply truck will pass through here on its way to the meeting." Archer said "When it does, I want you to jump down on top of it and climb into the driver's seat and stop it." He fixed grey eyes on me. "You know which pedal is the break right?"

I nodded "What about the driver?" I asked.

"I'll take care off him but there might be a passenger." Archer explained "If there is, I want you to take that knife and plunge it in his throat."

I gulped and said nervously "Al-Alright."

Archer's eyes softened and he put a comforting hand on my shoulder, "I know the prospect of killing someone is daunting, but remember. They would not hesitate to kill you if given the chance."

I nodded, reassured and waited with Archer for the truck to roll right into our trap. Finally, after an hour of waiting, a large 18-wheeler pulled into the street. Archer unlimbered his crossbow and took aim at the driver. He fired and the bolt silently whizzed through the air, shattering through the truck's windshield and lodging itself firmly in the driver's chest. Right before the truck passed underneath us I jumped off the rooftop and landed on the hood off the truck, once again grateful for the increased strength that comes from being a Conduit. I was lucky, there was no passenger.

That's when things went wrong.

What felt like a fist of solid force slammed into me and I was sent flying off the hood of the truck. I landed on my back with a hard thud and I raised my head in time to see the truck barring down on me. I rolled to the side to avoid the truck and missed becoming road kill by an inch. The truck skidded to a stop and the driver's side door opened. The driver stepped out, the bolt still lodged in his chest. He was a large man in a dark green military uniform. In one hand he held a metal club as long as my arm and in the other, was floating a ball of distorted air. My eyes widened as I realized what the driver was: a Conduit.

The driver stretched out his hand and I was lifted up into the air with telekinetic force. Quickly, I ran through the list of things I knew about fighting a telekinetic. I knew from my sparing lessons with Anderson that, once you were in a telekinetic's grasp, the only way to escape would be to distract them. I also knew that a telekinetic's power relied on the strength of their will but they could only manipulate a solid or liquid, they had no control over gases or more importantly, plasma. However, they could easily toss you around like a rag doll or even, depending on the strength of their will, render you immovable. The key to avoid getting grabbed was to keep moving and keep moving quickly; it they can't focus in on you then they can't grab you. And to keep an eye out for anything that might be thrown at you.

As all this went through my head, the driver began applying force on my throat, constricting my airways. I gasped for breath and struggled against my telekinetic bonds. My thoughts began to grow fuzzy as my brain was deprived of oxygen. My vision was starting to go dark when I heard a loud cry and Archer swung down on a rope, kicking the driver in the face. The driver's hold on me was released and I fell to the ground, taking deep, full breaths of precious air.

Archer drew 2 long, sharp knives from his belt and held them in a reverse-handed grip. The driver swung his club only to find his hand removed by a knife. The driver used telekinetics to throw garbage cans at Archer but he needn't have bothered; Archer ducked under the first can and rushed forward before the second could hit him, plunging one of his blades into the driver's chest and drawing the other one across the driver's throat so fast that I almost missed it. The driver let out a sick gurgle and fell to the ground, dead.

Archer wiped the blood off his knives and returned them to their hidden sheathes. He came over to me and helped me rise. "Are you okay?" he asked and I nodded. "Sorry I took so long to help out, my crossbow jammed." He pulled out his crossbow and showed me that the string would not draw back all the way. "I'll have to get Maria to look at it." He said bitterly.

He went over to the driver's corpse and studied it. "A Conduit." He said thoughtfully, "So whoever is supplying the Vereor is not anti-Conduit. Strange."

"Who is supplying the Vereor?" I asked coming to Archer's side.

Archer shook his head. "I don't know, someone immensely powerful is funding the Vereor and I don't know why. It's just another question that Carver's going to have to answer when I finally find him."

I looked down at the body of the Conduit who tried to kill me and I couldn't help thinking that maybe, just maybe, Carver might have answers for me too.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thus ends chapter 7. What did you think of Maria's story about how her parents died? Do you think Archer is a badass? Did you like how I explained how one would fight a telekinetic? Review and tell me what you thought about this chapter. I'll try to update soon. Also, I have put up a poll on my profile page asking if anyone wants a sequel. I'm hoping to do one but I want to know whether or not people would like one so please, vote. **


	8. The Hunt

**A/N: A thank you to everyone whose voted on my poll, all ****2**** of you! Of course, 2 votes are perfectly fine I just was hoping for more feedback on whether or not people want a sequel. Nevertheless, the fact that both those votes were for me to do a sequel is good enough for me so it's official, I will be doing not just 1 sequel but ****4**** sequels. Now don't get angry, the plan always was that I would do 5 installments in the Beyond series or Beyond Evil would be a stand alone title. So expect this story to end on a cliffhanger. But we still have at **_**least**_** 5 more chapters to go, so don't worry about Beyond Evil ending soon.**

8: The Hunt

Kuo:

I shot across the sky, a cloud of icy vapor moving faster than sound. Below me, a streak of red lightning shot from building to building in the blink of an eye. I scanned the city for any sign of Eli but came up with nothing. I saw the lightning bolt strike the top of a nearby skyscraper, and Cole appeared in a flash of light. He waved me down and I shot down to land next to him, reforming as I did so.

"Find anything?" I asked.

Cole shook his head. "It looks like they didn't pass through this city either."

I sighed in frustration and closed my eyes, rubbing my temples. We had been searching up and down the country for the past few weeks, looking for a sign of Eli and that girl. Cole had tried to sense them but we had left to late, their "shadows" as Cole called it, had already faded away. Therefore, we were forced to sweep the countryside in an attempt to find them. Occasionally we found a campground or recent tire marks but we were at most only able to determine that they were heading east and in a vehicle. Anderson had contacted us via radio and informed us that Eli's two best friends, Ryan and "Sunny" were missing. We assumed that they had helped Eli escape.

"Maybe they found refuge in some small town not overrun by the Feral." I suggested glumly.

"I doubt it." Cole said, "The Feral may be disorganized but their not senseless. They would have sensed Eli and the others and gone after them like sharks to a wounded fish."

"Nice analogy." I said with a shudder.

Cole noticed my discomfort and smirked. "Sorry, I forgot about that incident in India. What kind of shark was that again? Tiger shark? Great White?"

"Bull shark." I said angrily.

"_Right._" Cole said, his smirk refusing to go away. "Didn't you and that girl Carrie get thrown off a bridge over the Ganges River in New Delhi by a grenade? Didn't it take you completely by surprise as you tried to swim to shore, biting Carrie's leg and pulling her under? Didn't it rip her leg off even as you tried to freeze it and you had to drag Carrie to shore, even as blood _gushed_ from the fleshy stump where her leg used to be? And then you had to freeze the stump while Carrie went into shock and-"

"STOP IT! STOP IT!" I cried as I hugged myself, trying to shake off those horrible memories. Upon seeing that Cole was still smirking at me I promptly punched his arm. "It's not funny!"

"The event itself may not have been but your ridiculous fear of sharks sure is." Cole chucked.

I glared at him, "Do you want me to tell Anderson about the time you-"

"You wouldn't dare!" Cole said in disbelief.

I smiled coolly "Try me."

Cole was about to respond when his radio buzzed and Anderson's voice came through in a blast of static. "Hello? Is anyone there? Damn it Cole! Don't leave me hanging!"

Cole pulled out his radio. "What is it Anderson?"

I heard Anderson breath a sigh of relief, "About time, I've got my hands full right now, the Blood Gold are making a move now that you're gone and the Human Resistance is God knows where. Listen, Cole, I need you back here right now."

"Sorry Anderson but I need to find Eli." Cole said sternly.

"Cole, this is more important than-" Anderson started to say but Cole cut him off.

"My decision is final. Goodbye Anderson."

"Don't you hand up on me you Son of a-" his voice was cut off as Cole turned off the radio.

"He's always so cheerful." Cole said sarcastically.

"Lets keep looking." I suggested "We still have a few hours of light left."

We continued our sweep of the city but came up with nothing. Resigning ourselves to another wasted search, we started our flight over the Rockies setting up camp in a small mountain cave when night fell. Cole used his powers to start a fire while I unpacked our food from a small bag I had brought along. After consuming the canned bread that I had looted from one of the cities we had passed through, Cole and I sat on opposite sides of the fire.

We had sat in silence for a long time like we did every night when Cole spoke up. "You should get some sleep. I'll take watch tonight."

I studied the dark circles under Cole's red eyes and said "You take watch every night. You need sleep, I'll take watch tonight."

Cole shook his head, "The Beast sustains me. I don't need sleep."

"The Beast may help you stay awake but it doesn't replace the clear thinking that comes from being well rested." I said defiantly. "Sleep."

Cole looked like he was about to protest when he sighed and lay back, closing his eyes. I gave a sigh of relief and turned my attention to the fire as my mind wandered. I thought about how much I have changed over the past decade. I used to be cold and calculating, always willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. In some ways that hasn't changed but now I was different, more cautious, less willing to toe the line. Of course, I wasn't the only one who's changed. I looked over at Cole. He had been in his 20's when I first met him and now he looked like he could be in his 50's. The scar under his right eye was now long and jagged, and his skin pale. I sighed; according to our best physicians, the use of the Beast's powers had accelerated Cole's aging process and he was still likely to live at least 3 more decades longer than the average human.

Of course, first he had to survive that long. There had been a time when I had thought that once we finished eradicating the Plague that the world would settle down and I'd be able to live a quite life with Cole and Eli. Now I see that it was a naive hope, the world would never settle down. The world seemed to love crisis and that had been true even before Cole had arrived on the scene. I was foolish to think that might change.

As I watched the steady rise and fall of Cole's chest I couldn't help thinking that I had been foolish about a lot of things. There had been a time, many years ago; that I had thought I had been in love with Cole and that he had been in love with me. I scoffed; it was a foolish hope, the kind that only a lonely girl in desperate need of companionship would dream up. I had been wrong, so very wrong. I had confessed my feelings to Cole after I dared him to spend one night with me and as soon as he fixed me with those sad red eyes I knew that Cole would never feel the same way. He would never be able to love another woman as he had loved Trish. Her dying words had struck a cord in him so deeply that he had sworn off love forever. Infatuation? Yes. Love? Never. I swore from that moment forth that I would never allow myself to be lost to pathetic romanticism ever again. I couldn't, for Eli's sake.

Eli. That name struck something in me that I had not known was there. I had practically raised Eli from the day I dug him out of the rubble of that cathedral. One day, when he was 4 he had asked me if I was his mother. Sadly, I had said no. When he asked who was, I had merely said that I didn't know. That had always bothered me; Eli didn't even know who his own mother was. I had sworn that one day; I would return to the ruins of New Marias and shift through the rubble of the town hall and find the records of Eli's birth.

I felt my eyes grow heavy but I struggled to stay awake. It was my watch, I couldn't fall asleep now. I noticed that the cave had grown darker; there was an eerie presence in the air. Then, I felt a flash of pain from the back of my head and everything went dark.

* * *

><p>I groaned as my eyes cracked open to the cool morning light. I was lying on the cold stone floor of the cave with my hands tied behind my back.<p>

"She's awake sire." I heard a raspy voice say and I winced as my head throbbed.

"Excellent." A deep voice answered.

A shadow passed over me and I looked up. Standing in front of me, looking down with curiosity, was a tall, thin man with broad shoulders. His slick, black hair fell past his shoulders and his skin was sickly green. He was wearing a long, flowing black coat over a tight fitting black shirt and pants. Most disturbing however, were his eyes: the pupils were small black dots and his irises were completely white except for where a blood red halo lined the outer ring.

The man knelt down, "Good morning my dear." He said as he reached out his long elegant fingers and stroked my cheek. His deep, silky voice was colored with a western Romanian accent.

I shuddered as an unnatural chill swept through me at his touch. "Don't touch me you bastard!"

My captor emitted a dark chuckle as he withdrew his hand. "I have heard tales of the beauty of the great Lucy Kuo, but they do not do you nearly enough justice." He looked at me appreciatively, lust shining in his eyes as he licked his lips with a red tongue.

Then, a bitter laugh echoed through the chamber. I looked at the source of the laugh and saw that Cole was being held captive by 2 men in tattered clothes, their skin pale like a corpse's, their hair falling out and black blood oozing from every pore. "I wouldn't if I were you." Cole was saying, "I almost got frostbite after the first 15 seconds."

I blushed, it wasn't true of course but it was still embarrassing. The man's eyes narrowed "How very cute MacGrath." He looked at the guards holding Cole "Bring him to the Mistress!"

The two guards nodded and said in a raspy voice simultaneously, "Yes sire." The guards yanked Cole to his feet and dragged him out.

The man roughly grabbed my arm in a surprisingly strong grip and yanked me to my feet. Me smiled and whispered to me softly "Time to go see the Mistress."

**A/N: That's chapter 8. I always felt that Kuo and Cole's relationship was more one-sided with Cole still grieving over Trish and Kuo being professional enough not to let her feelings get in the way of getting the job done, however in order to appease the common desire for a Cole/Kuo relationship, I added the bit about Kuo daring Cole to spend a night with her. As for the new villain I've just introduced, I can't decide on a name for him so I'm giving you: the readers, a chance to pick the name for me. So if you think you have a name that would fit my new villain that sounds badass, and vaguely Romanian but not to reminiscent of a vampire, pm me or submit a review. I will announce the winner in chapter 10 so stay tuned. Review please!**


	9. The Calm Before the Storm

**A/N: This chapter is mostly just a filler with some light humor, a pinch of combat, and too much garlic. **

9: The Calm before the Storm

Eli:

I ducked Archer's swing with the practice sword. It had been a month since our encounter with the telekinetic and Archer had insisted on me learning how to use a melee weapon. Archer apparently knew a great deal about fighting with swords, particularly with katana. He was currently teaching me the form once used by the Japanese samurai, Kendo. I parried a jab and swung at Archer's exposed side only for my strike to be batted aside.

"No," Archer said, calling a halt to our sparring, "You're using it like a club. The sword is as much about speed and finesse as it is about strength and power. Now again, but this time with less force and more speed."

I grumbled as I complied. The past few days had followed this very pattern, with the only things gained from these lessons were more bruises. Our sparring continued for several more minutes until Sunny came into the training room holding a tray with 2 steaming hot bowls of soup. She put the tray down on a bench and smirked when I got whacked in the head for being distracted.

"I've got dinner," she said once Archer and I had finished sparring. "Leo helped me make it."

I smiled and graciously accepted the bowl she offered me. "Thanks. I never knew you could cook- BLAGH! What is this?" I cried as I spit out the spoonful of soup I had unfortunately put in my mouth.

Sunny smirked, "We _may_ have put in a little garlic."

I glared at her as I tried to ignore the terrible aftertaste. "Why would you do that? You know I hate garlic!"

Sunny's smirk only broadened, "That's why I put it in there."

"Well now my mouth tastes like spoiled cabbage." I snarled, looking around for something to get the taste out.

Conveniently, at that moment Ella came in holding a glass filled with a yellow liquid. "I told her not to do it." Ella said innocently, "I thought that I might be able to cheer you up with a glass of lemonade." She held up the glass and I, smiling gratefully, took the glass from her little fingers.

While I raised the glass to my lips, Archer frowned and said, confused "Lemonade? We don't have lemonade."

I immediately spit out the mysterious liquid and glared at Ella. She looked at me innocently, "Leo put me up to it."

"Hey!" Leo entered the room, clearly having been waiting just outside the door, listening in. "I did not! You were the one who thought of the idea originally!"

Ella turned her big eyes back on me and batted her long eyelashes "You don't really think I would ever willingly pull a prank on you Eli, right?" she said innocently.

I knelt down and narrowed my eyes at Ella, "I think you're far more devious than you let on." I answered.

Ella smiled mischievously, "You know me so well."

I couldn't resist smiling back.

* * *

><p>Leo and I walked into the observation room. We were talking about what kind of improvements could be made to my board. In the past month, Leo had become something of a little brother to me. His energetic personality was a tad bit annoying sometimes but I could tell that his heart was in the right place. I was currently suggesting a way to compact the board when I noticed that Ryan was sitting off to the side, staring intently at a ball of shadow in his hands.<p>

"Hey, Ryan," I said, causing Ryan to start and the ball of shadow to dissipate.

"Eli," he said, standing up "What's this I hear about a prank that I didn't get a chance to participate in?"

"Disappointed?" I said with a smirk.

Ryan shrugged, "Perhaps a little but I'll just prank you later to make up for it."

I rolled my eyes, "Thanks, I feel _so_ much better."

"That's me, I'm a giver."

"You're also an ass." I pointed out blandly.

"That's why people love me." Ryan said smugly.

"Really? Who?" Leo quipped.

Ryan shrugged, "You know, people in general."

"If by 'people in general' you mean your imaginary friends then yes." Sunny said as she entered the room with Archer, Ella, and Luke on her heels.

Archer turned his gaze to me. "The Vereor have a meeting coming up, and the rumor is that Carver will be there."

I cocked an eyebrow in surprise, "When did this come up?"

Archer shrugged, "I've got a few contacts in the Vereor who know a thing or two about springing information on me without warning. They told me that it will be happening in a week's time."

I nodded, "Anything else?"

"Actually there is one thing," Archer said "My contacts have also informed me that they've heard some disturbing rumors."

"Such as?"

Archer looked grim "Such as a rumor that their supplier will be sending a representative."

* * *

><p>Carver:<p>

I stood outside the old fort that we had commandeered to use as our home base. The representative was supposed to arrive in precisely 30 minutes, escorted by some of the finest men in the Vereor. The leader of the Vereor, I was a large, intimidating man rippling with muscle. My black hair was shaved off and every square inch of my body was covered with scars. Slung across my back was a long, double edged sword with both its edges serrated like a saw. The sword was dwarfed by my 7ft tall stature and I could swing it around in one hand with ease.

While I waited, I daydreamed about all the times I've felled my foes with my blade. I smiled as remembered the feeling of cleaving human flesh, the pleasure as I ripped my foes apart. Oh, how I love killing. I was brought out of my daydream by a large white van pulling up in front of me surrounded by a dozen Vereor on motorcycles. Their red and white outfits made them easy to spot in the dark.

The passenger side door on the van opened up and a man in a white tuxedo stepped out. His skin was tanned and his black hair was slicked back. His tie was the color of blood… Hm, blood, I love blood…oh wait is he saying something?

"Mr. Smith," the representative was saying, "Mr. Smith, are you listening to me?" his voice had an accent I couldn't identify.

"Sure, sure." I answered "What's your name again?"

The representative looked at me with disgust. "I said my name was Doctor Archibald Phineas Percival Arnold William Albert Baker. You may call me Doctor, Dr. Baker, or _sir_."

I blinked then chuckled, "Hehe, you have a funny name. And please, call me Carver."

Dr. Baker shook his head and said sternly "Well then, _Carver_, I am here to discuss with you this vigilante called Archer."

All humor left me in a flash to be replaced by anger. "Do not speak that bastard's name to me!"

The doctor fixed his grey eyes on mine. I held his intense gaze for as long as I could before I had to look away. He was just too intimidating. Pleased, Dr. Baker continued, "I trust that the plan you discussed with our previous messengers has been set in motion."

I nodded, still not meeting his gaze. "Yes, we've fed information to his spies that there will be a meeting in a week. With luck, he'll take the bait."

Dr. Baker nodded, "Very good. Unfortunately, we have a slight complication,"

My eyes narrowed and I risked meeting Dr. Baker's eyes. "What sort of complication?"

"MacGrath is making his way here."

Anger suddenly burst to life inside me. "WHAT! MacGrath is coming_ here_? Do you have any idea how bad this is?"

Dr. Baker arched an eyebrow. "You need not be afraid; we have a plan to deal with him."

As soon as he finished those words the back of the van opened up and a ramp folded out and a man in a dark green uniform rolled out a large wooden crate on wheels. The man rolled the crate next to Dr. Baker and pried the front open with a crowbar. I looked inside and saw a large, blocky, vaguely humanoid shape in a fetal position. In front of it glowed a holographic number pad. Dr. Baker went to the number pad and entered in a code. The pad flashed blue and the shape started to unfold itself with a mechanical whirr while Dr. Baker stepped back.

Dr. Baker smiled as the machine broke free of the crate and rose to its full height. "I give you the Beastslayer Mark 11."

The Beastslayer was roughly 10ft tall and entirely white. It was large and blocky with its head essentially a large camera with a glowing red lens. Attached to its forearms were 2 Gatling guns and 4 rocket launchers were strapped to its shoulders.

"It is the perfect fusion of Conduit and machine." Dr. Baker said proudly. "MacGrath will be no match for it."

The Beastslayer looked down at us and said in a cold machine voice** "What is your directive?"**

Dr. Baker flashed me a proud smile before answering. "Your directive is to _kill_ Cole MacGrath!"

**A/N: Oooh! The plot thickens! I've put up a new poll that I think I'm going to keep up throughout the whole Beyond series. It asks who your favorite OC is and I will add to it as I introduce new characters, hopefully this poll will get more of a response than my last one. One last thing, keep the Reviews rolling in! I love it when people give their honest opinion of my story, and I want to know how well I did the humor, was it even funny? Criticism is welcome.**


	10. The Mistress

**A/N: And the winner for the name of the villain I introduced in chapter 8 is… (Dramatic drum roll) …Anton Slovic! A huge thank you to undead3 for suggesting this name. Granted that it was a choice between Anton Slovic and Jessie or Athena but I still think that undead3 deserves a congratulations. Also, Zoe Angel, you wanted Cole POV well you got it! **

**On a side note, school has begun and, this being my junior year, this means that I will be very busy and won't be able to update as much as I would like which I find incredibly annoying because we're finally getting to the good stuff. **

10: The Mistress

Cole:

The freaky vampire-man (as I had started to call him) led me and Kuo down the mountain and to a small town at the base of the Rockies. I eyed the grunts on either side of me warily. I had allowed them to capture me in order to find out if the Feral had taken Eli but the way vampire-guy was treating Kuo was starting to get on my nerves. Granted I knew Kuo could take care of herself and if Mr. Vampire tried anything she would likely freeze his balls off but I still didn't like it. I considered Kuo one of the few friends I had and if anything happened to her… well, let's just say I'd go supernova.

Sir Vampire-Man led us to a large old rectangular building with a glass dome near the center of the town. He climbed up the steps, his coat fluttering behind him in the early morning breeze, and pushed the large doors open forcefully to a dimly lit room.

"Honey? I'm home!" Vampy said cheerfully, entering the room as Kuo and I were led up the steps.

As we were shoved inside I quickly surveyed my surroundings. The room was covered in black vines, the floor slick with tar. The only light came from the open door and the small cracks between the vines that covered the dome, casting the room in an eerie twilight. Strange, twisted beasts lurked in the shadows while, seated on a throne made of black vines, flanked by what looked like 2 overgrown spiders, was the witch that had plagued my nightmares for over 12 years.

"How was your drive?" she asked in her demonically sweet voice. "Was the traffic bad?" She turned her attention me and Kuo. "Oh, good! I see you brought the neighbors over for dinner!" She cackled madly as she rose from her dark throne and approached.

I snarled "Sasha."

She smiled, flashing her pointed teeth. "Hello, dear Cole."

Sasha had barely aged in the 12 years since our battle in Empire City. Her deathly white face still held that snake-like structure, her eyes still pitch black. Her dark red jacket was so stained with tar that you could barely see the color underneath. The jacket's hood was raised to cover her hairless head and the rest of her body was so coated in tar that it was impossible to tell if she was wearing anything other than that small jacket.

"I've missed you sweet Cole." Sasha said, moving so close that I could smell the tar on her breath. "What do you think of my little vacation home?"

"I think your taste in interior design hasn't improved." I said humorlessly. "The vines are new though."

Sasha smiled and retreated to the vampire-dude "They were lovely Anton's doing."

"Anything for my Sasha." Anton said in a seductive voice.

Sasha's smile broadened as she turned to Anton. Suddenly, without warning, she grabbed his face and firmly pushed her lips against his. My initial reaction was shock, and then as Anton wrapped his arms around Sasha and pulled her flush against him my expression turned to disgust and I proceeded to gag as loudly as I could.

Anton and Sasha broke free of their fierce kiss and Sasha turned her head to smile at me. "Aw, are you jealous Cole?"

"More like disgusted," I said, looking at Anton. "You do realize that she is a complete slut and will stab you in the back without a second thought."

"Hah!" Anton boasted "She would be unwise to betray me. My powers combined with hers are the reason the Feral exist!" As he spoke he summoned a dark green gas in his hands.

"So, you're a Corrupter." I said "Funny, I thought you were a vampire."

Anton's expression turned furious but before he could respond Kuo spoke up, "Where's Eli?" she said angrily.

Sasha laughed, "Yes, the boy. If you must know, I sent him and his little friends to Philsburg. I've been planning on harvesting the city for a while now," She smiled evilly at me. "If you hurry, you may get there before my Harvesters do." My eyes widened in horror as I realized what she was doing. Sasha snapped her fingers and the grunts backed away. "Run, Cole," She laughed "Run, run, as fast as you can!"

I immediately sprung into action, grabbing Kuo's wrist and turning us both into a bolt of lightning. We shot up through the dome, shattering the glass, and we shot east through the sky Sasha's laughter still ringing in my ears. Damn that bitch. She knew that all of her pets wouldn't be able to stop me from killing her but they would take time to kill. So she had forced me to choose between her and Eli. Philsburg was a few days away and even then I might not get there in time.

Damn that bitch.

**A/N: That's Chapter 10. Sorry it was so short and not as good as the others; writer's block is a jerk. I had been holding off on doing Cole's POV because I wasn't sure if I could do him right, so please Review and tell me how well you think I characterized Cole, and Sasha, and whether or not you liked Anton because I'm still working on his character. Don't forget to vote on who your favorite OC is on my profile page! The next chapter is the start of the climax so I'll try to get up sometime before Halloween. **


	11. Deception

**A/N: It's done. Finally! I'm really sorry that I went and pulled a DaVinci on you guys (although in my defense this is the longest chapter so far) I'll try to update more consistently in the future. On another note, this is going to be the start of the climax and therefore, this is going to be the last Author's Note until the end of the story so I don't disrupt the flow of the action. But never fear, I will be adding an afterword at the end because I know you people _love_ my Author's Notes. Finally, be forewarned, I will be posting a Warning at the start of chapter 12 because it will contain graphic violence in the form of blood, gore, and death. **

**Review Please! And Happy Holidays!**

* * *

><p>11: Deception<p>

Sunny:  
>"Are you sure you want to leave Ella here alone with only Leo, Maria, and Luke to protect her." I asked as I strapped a knife to my belt.<p>

I turned to face Eli. He was wearing a black hoodie and dark grey pants. Strapped to his back was a katana Archer had given him. "Yep," Eli said quickly, "Maria's - capable - and - Leo - knows - a - trick - or - two - at - least - that's - what - Archer - told - me - you - know - we - can - trust - him - with - anythi…" I rolled my eyes and tuned out Eli's jabbering as Archer came out from his office and into the briefing room.

Archer was wearing the dark hooded jacket and pants that I've seen him wear when going out at night. Strapped to his thighs were two crossbow pistols, and slung along his back was a large crossbow rifle with a scope. Strapped to the back of his belt were two long daggers -_tantos_ I believe they're called- and he had several bolt magazines attached to his belt.

Archer cocked an eyebrow at the still chattering Eli and then looked to me in puzzlement. "Why is Eli acting like Leo in the middle of a sugar high?"

I shrugged, "Eli's body constantly generates plasma at a slow but steady rate which is then stored in his body. While he doesn't need to recharge like some Conduits have to after expending energy, this also has some drawbacks."

"Such as?"

I was about to answer when Ryan came out of the Men's Quarters wearing a black shirt and pants with a knife strapped to his belt like me. "Such as the fact that when his stored energy is depleted, he can't just go to the nearest light bulb and drain it like Cole used to. He has to wait until that energy can build up enough for him to use his powers again."

I glared at Ryan for interrupting me. "That's why, I suspect, he's been refraining from using his powers recently. He's been trying to build up enough plasma so he'll have an ample supply if he needs it for this mission. The problem is that his body can only hold so much plasma. If he generates more plasma than his body can store, he has to release it as excess energy. Hence, why he's jabbering like an idiot."

Archer frowned and said thoughtfully "So he can't manipulate outside sources of plasma, like say, a Thunderstorm?"

I shook my head but it was Ryan who answered "Not, exactly. In truth we don't know, Conduit City gets storms all the time so it's not like we haven't had ample opportunity to try it out but… well…"

"What?" Archer asked with concern.

"The last time he tried to manipulate a Thunderstorm…Well, he was try to see how well he could handle it if he was struck by lightning so he in essence turned himself into a living lightning rod during a storm and he…" I shivered at the memory "He had a seizure."

Archer's eyes widened and he looked at Eli, who was now chattering on about his love of bacon, unaware of our conversation. "A seizure? Was he alright?"

I nodded "Yeah, Cole was able to extract all excess plasma from his body and he was fine the next day. Apparently, his body wasn't able to handle the sharp spike in plasma and shut down. Ever since that day he's been too afraid to try it again."

Archer looked at Eli in sympathy. "I can understand where he's coming from. Everyone has their fears." Archer went over to Eli and put a hand on his shoulder, startling him so badly he jumped a foot in the air.

"Oh - hey - Archer!" Eli said energetically "What's - going - on - are - we - leaving?"

"Yes," Archer said kindly "And you can release some plasma, I doubt we'll need you to fry the entire district."

Eli nodded and visibly relaxed as I saw a multicolored gas seep from his skin and evaporate into the air, leaving a faint smell of ozone behind. "Thanks," Eli said, much more relaxed than before. "You have no idea how much I hate storing up plasma."

Archer nodded and tapped a few keys on the holo-map in the middle of the room. The map zoomed in on a large abandoned warehouse located near the river in the industrial district. "This is where the Vereor are meeting their supplier. My sources say that Carver will be there with the representative at 11:45. If we're lucky, we can find out who is supplying the Vereor and maybe, _maybe_, take out Carver in the process."

"That's an awfully specific time." Ryan pointed out.

"Relax," Archer said reassuringly. "I've been in my fair share of traps; I know how to prepare for one."

"Even so," I said, "Don't you think we should leave someone here to watch Ella?"

"What am I, a Mexican spice cabinet?" Leo grinned as he entered the room carrying a wide, thick, flat, diamond-shaped metal plate and a black backpack with an odd series of straps on the back. "Here you go," Leo said as he handed Eli the metal diamond.

Eli grinned, "You finished it?"

"Finished what?" Ryan asked.

"Yep," Leo said proudly, ignoring Ryan's question. "Try pumping some lightning into it."

Lightning shot along Eli's hand and into the diamond. There was a small whirr and then, without warning, the diamond split in half and shot out in both directions, elongating the diamond until it was over a meter long. Eli was beaming at what was now an elongated hexagon. "Sweet."

"Is that your board?" Ryan asked in amazement.

"Yep," Eli said proudly. "Leo modified it to make it easier to carry around."

"So now instead of lugging around a giant metal rectangle everywhere, you get to lug around a giant metal diamond that weighs exactly the same." I said blandly "How do you even expect to carry that?"

Leo held up the backpack "With this for now." He took the board from Eli once he changed it back to the diamond and shoved it into the pack's main compartment. "It's not easily accessible but at least you'll have it with you."

"That's gonna make it kinda hard for me to access my katana." Eli said while gesturing to the sword strapped to his back.

"Not necessarily," Archer said "That's my old bag, correct Leo?"

Leo nodded "I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all, in fact…" Archer went over to Eli and removed the sword and sheath from his back. Archer then took the pack from Leo and slid both the sword and sheath into a long pouch, leaving only the hilt protruding from the bag. With Archer's help, Eli put the backpack on, with two straps going across his chest in an X and that went around his waist, securing the bag tightly to Eli's back. With only the board and katana in it, the pack lay almost flat against Eli's back, encumbering his movement only a little.

Archer stepped back to admire his handiwork. "Fits like a charm." He said approvingly before heading towards the door, beckoning us to follow him. "We'll be taking the path an old ketchup factory. We can get to the warehouse from there via the rooftops."

We passed through the observation room and went down into the garage with Leo trailing behind us. We stopped in front of the door that would take us to the tunnels. "Don't worry," Leo reassured us "Ella is safe with me."

I rolled my eyes "Don't jinx it."

Eli and Ryan said goodbye to Leo and Archer surprised everyone by giving Leo a hug. "Remember," Archer said once he released Leo "If you hear the perimeter alarms go off, you grab Ella, Luke, and your sister and you get in the escape tunnel hidden in my office."

"Relax Archer," Leo grinned "This isn't the first time you've left me in charge."

"No, but this is the first time I've left you in charge of a little girl," Archer said sternly.

"We'll be fine Archer," Leo said reassuringly "The First Sons didn't make their bases easy to find."

Archer's expression was grim but before he could respond, Ella raced up to us with Luke in tow. "You weren't going to leave without saying goodbye were you?"

I smiled and knelt down so that I was eye level with Ella, "We'll only be gone a few hours, don't worry."

Ella looked at me curiously for a moment then took off the emerald leaf necklace she always wore and put it in my hand. "This is good luck, take it."

I smiled as I put the necklace around my neck but I couldn't help the pang of worry that shot through me. What was it about this mission that had Archer and Ella worried? "Thank you," I said kindly "I'll return it when we get back."

Ella smiled sadly and hugged me. She then went to Eli and hugged his legs while Luke licked my hand affectionately. Eli hugged Ella back and Ryan ruffled her hair while scratching Luke behind the ears. Having said our goodbyes, Archer opened the door to the tunnel and we stepped through into darkness.

* * *

><p>Eli:<p>

"Archer," I said after several minutes of walking in silence "What is it about this mission that has you worried?"

I heard Archer sigh from where he was at the head of our group, carrying a lantern. "I just have a bad feeling about this mission, and I learned long ago to trust my instincts."

"What do you mean?" Sunny asked.

"The last time I felt this bad about something…" Archer took a deep breath "I watched Maria and Leo's parents die."

I gapped at the old warrior, "That's how Maria found out what happened to her parents; you told her."

Archer nodded "I had been tracking Cole for awhile, hoping I would get the chance to assassinate him before he destroyed more lives. I witnessed Maria's father kill her mother on Cole's orders, then try to kill Cole once he realized what he'd done. Cole just waved his hand and more lightning than I'd ever seen came down from the heavens and struck down Maria's father like the wrath of God himself. Cole left him for dead and I went to see if there was anything I could do when the coast was clear. Maria's father was –remarkably– still alive, but only just. I tried to do something to save him but it was no use. In his damaged state he…" Archer let out a humorless chuckle "He thought I was an angel sent by God to take his wife to heaven and condemn him to hell. He asked me to watch over his children and parents in the small village where they lived. He asked me to save them from this apocalypse.

"I took his wife's drivers license and used it to find their home, and from there I was able to figure out where Maria and Leo's grandparents lived. I went there to find them only to find that their grandparents had caught the Plague. Fortunately, Maria and Leo were still healthy. I informed a five year old Maria that her parents were dead and I had sworn to look after her and Leo. When their grandparents had passed away, I took Leo and Maria back up north to the US and we eventually made our way to Philsburg. The rest you already know."

We had walked in silence for several more minutes when the tunnel opened up into a large antechamber with countless doors lining the walls. "What is this?" Ryan asked in awe.

"As I've said before, there is an entire network of tunnels beneath Philsburg that stretches all the way to 3 ½ mile island." Archer explained "This is one of the main crossroads. The safehouse is only one of many I suspect, and I've yet to map the entire network. I've probably only covered a fifth of the entire network. However, if we stick to the tunnels I am familiar with, we should be fine."

Archer led us through one of the numerous doors and into another tunnel. Finally, after what felt like hours, we arrived at the end of the tunnel. A ladder went straight up to a trap door that opened into a dark, dusty, old factory. Archer turned off his lantern and moved stealthily to a stairwell. We followed Archer up the stairs and onto the roof. I looked across the river to the lights of Downtown. The light emitted fires silhouetted the buildings, giving the city an eerie aura.

Ryan walked toward the edge of the rooftop and enveloped himself in the darkness of the night, appearing on another rooftop a few seconds later across a fifty foot gap. Sunny formed a bridge of light across the gap and we walked across it to rejoin with Ryan. We followed this pattern for every gap we crossed that was too wide to jump all the way to the warehouse. There was a skylight on the roof that we knelt by and looked down into the warehouse through. The ware house was pitch black; I strained my eyes to try and make out any shapes but it was in vain.

"Ryan?" Archer said.

Ryan nodded and surrounded himself in shadows. Ryan's form melted and seeped through the cracks in the glass, dripping down into the darkness below. We waited for several minutes before a dark mass shot up out of the darkness and seeped back through the skylight, reforming into Ryan.

"Nothing," Ryan said, shaking his head "There's nothing down there but crates."

Archer's brow furrowed as he looked down at his watch. "That's odd; they should be here by now."

I frowned and lifted open the skylight. "What are you doing?" Sunny snarled angrily.

"There's no one down there," I answered "don't you find that suspicious?"

"There's no one down there _yet_," Ryan pointed out "That doesn't mean they're not coming."

"Relax," I said calmly "I'll be out before anyone notices." Before anyone could object, I dropped down through the skylight and fell the 100ft to the floor below. I rolled as I landed, my strengthened Conduit muscles absorbing the impact with ease.

I heard angry swearing and looked up to see Archer, Sunny, and Ryan floating down to me on a disk of light. When the disc was only five feet from the ground, Archer hopped off and stormed angrily toward me. "Now is not the time to be reckless Eli."

"Damn straight it isn't!" Sunny growled as she stepped off the light disk and marched up to me.

Suddenly, without warning, Sunny's hand shot out and she grabbed my ear. "Ow! Sunny stop!" I yelped as she pulled me toward the light disk by my ear.

"We're trying to be _stealthy_ Eli."Ryan said pointedly "That means we don't-" Ryan stopped talking when the sound of several crates breaking and mechanical whirring filled the warehouse.

Archer's eyes widened, "Sunny…"

"I'm on it!" Sunny released my ear and hurled a ball of light into the air, illuminating the warehouse. What we made my blood run cold.

The dozens of crates in the warehouse had all broken open to reveal that each one had contained a white robot. Each robot was roughly six feet in height, had a camera for a head, and their hands were replaced with guns. Each had been folded into a fetal position and was currently in the process of unfolding itself. There was a moment of silence once each robot had unfolded itself and then a simultaneous whir as the robots all aimed their guns at us.

Archer's voice pierced the silence. "Get down!"

I threw myself to the floor as the robots opened fire. Ryan faded out of existence and into the shadows while Sunny a bubble of light to protect us. Safe behind the light shield, I got to my feet and looked for Archer. I found him somehow weaving between the bullets. Archer was ducking, spinning, flipping, and swerving between the fire, doing things a man half his age wouldn't be able to. I saw Archer draw his pistol crossbows and fire at two robots, the bolts driving through their camera heads. The robots, without any way to visually track their target, started firing wildly, hitting several other robots in the process. A dark mass materialized behind one of the robots and I saw a flash of metal as Ryan plunged his knife into the robot's control panel.

I turned to Sunny "Let me out."

Sunny nodded and a hole appeared in the bubble of light. I jumped through the hole and immediately charged up a lightning bolt, firing it at a nearby drone. Bullets peppered the air around me as I ignited a lightning bolt in both hands and fired at the drones. Sunny dissipated the bubble and made a slashing motion with her hand as a wave of light cut a group of three drones in half. Ryan moved from drone to drone, stabbing as Archer fired into their cameras and Sunny and I worked in tandem to dispatch the remaining drones.

Within minutes, all of the drones had been reduced to scrap metal. "Told you it was a trap." Ryan said flatly, emerging from the shadows as we gathered together in the center of the warehouse.

"This is bad," Archer mused "If my contacts in the Vereor have been compromised…"

Sunny cut in as Archer trailed off "Who do you think made those things?" she asked, gesturing to the drones.

"Their supplier I guess," I shrugged "The question is: who is that supplier?"

Why don't we check the robots?" Ryan suggested "Maybe there's a manufacturing logo."

Ryan started toward the nearest drone when Archer grabbed his arm. "Wait, do you hear that?"

Everyone fell silent as we strained to hear what Archer had. After several long seconds, I could make it out: a faint beeping noise coming from the drones that was growing steadily faster.

My eyes widened as I exchanged a glance with the others; we had all come to the same conclusion regarding the beeping.

"Oh sh-"

The warehouse was reduced to rubble as the drones all simultaneously self-destructed in a giant blast.

* * *

><p>Leo:<p>

The safehouse was quiet, no sound existed but for the sound of the holo-projector as Ella and I played a game on it. We were sitting on the couch with Luke lying between us, using a holo-projector to play a game of RISK. Now I know what you're thinking; playing RISK with a five year old? How dare you! She'll never be able to grasp the rules! But I swear it wasn't my idea. Ella was the one who suggested it and -get this- she was _winning_! I swear, it wasn't like I was going easy on her or anything like that, she was legitimately _winning_!

"Alright I give up!" I said in frustration after Ella had captured all of Europe. "How are you so good at this?"

Ella moved on to invade Canada "This was the only game Roman would play with me." She beamed at me "I've never been winning before!"

I looked at Ella in surprise "Roman never let you win?"

Ella frowned in confusion, "No, why would he? If he went easy on me I'd never get better."

I won't lie, hearing something so logical from the mouth of a five year old was more than a little disturbing. I shifted uneasily in my seat, "You scare me sometimes."

Ella was about to respond when Luke sat up and growled. "What is it boy?"

Without warning, the alarms started blaring, followed by a small boom. "Crud"

I grabbed Ella and Luke and rushed into Archer's office. I ducked under Archer's desk and placed my hand on a hidden panel. The panel flashed green and a trapdoor that had been previously invisible to the naked eye swung open. Carrying Luke, I climbed the ladder to the corridor below. I deposited the wolf pup on the floor then I climbed back up for Ella. I carried the five year old girl down into the tunnel and set her down gently.

"Ella," I said calmly despite the fact that I was scared out of my mind. "I'm going to go get Maria. You _stay__ here_, if I'm not back in ten minutes, just follow this tunnel and wait in the house at the end. The man there is a friend of Archer's, he'll look after you. Understand?"

Ella nodded and I gave her a reassuring smile before climbing back up the ladder, leaving the safety of the tunnel behind.

* * *

><p>Maria:<p>

I was busily working on my on my latest creation: _el__ Incinerador_. I was readjusting the focusing lenses when the alarm went off. I swore and grabbed as many of my custom-made weapons -along with _el__ Incinerador_- as I could and rushed out the door of my workshop to the garage in time to see the very door Archer had left through with the Conduits mere hours before blow open. Before the dust had settled, three armed men in familiar red and white uniforms ran through. I tensed; it was the Vereor.

I hefted _el__ Incinerador_ onto my shoulders and aimed at the lead Vereor grunt. I held down the trigger and a high pitched whine emitted from the large gun. The grunt I was aiming at noticed me and raised his rifle, pointing it at me. I only smirked at the grunt as he spontaneously combusted. I felt pride at the success of my latest baby as the grunt screamed and collapsed, reduced to ashes in seconds; real lasers weren't as flashy as they were in the movies but they worked just as well.

The other grunts had noticed me and opened fire with their assault rifles. I dropped _el__ Incinerador_ and rolled behind a pile of scrap metal. I pulled out the Shuri-gun and popped out of cover long enough to launch the metal star at one of the Vereor grunts, lodging it into his eye socket. More Vereor were already pouring into the garage. I unclipped a small ball from my belt and hurled it toward the doorway. The ball hit a grunt in the head just as he ran through the door. Before the grunt could react, the ball exploded in his face, sending shrapnel everywhere. All nearby Vereor were shredded to pieces with several grunts surrounding them getting impaled by the remaining shards. I loaded another shuriken into the gun and unclipped another grenade –this one shaped like a cylinder- and tossed it over the pile I was hiding behind. I winced as the bullets suppressing my position ceased with a loud bang. I popped out of cover and fired the shuriken at one of the stunned grunts before ducking back down when bullets flew from the Vereor's latest reinforcements.

I tossed aside the Shuri-gun, out of ammo, and unstrapped two smaller pistols from my thighs. Taking a deep breath, I rolled out from behind the pile, firing wildly. I dashed to a stack of nearby crates, saying a silent thank you for the Vereor's terrible aiming.

"Maria!" I turned toward the source of the sound. Leo was hiding in the doorway to the stairs. "Maria, what are you doing? Come on, get out of there!"

I shook my head "I won't let these _bastardos_ take away my home." I said defiantly.

"Don't be an idiot!" Leo growled "It's too- LOOK OUT!"

I poked my head out from behind the crates and my eyes widened as I saw a Vereor run through the door with an RPG and aim at me. "_Merida_!"

I dove away from the crates just as the rocket-propelled grenade slammed into them, blowing the crates to pieces. I took cover behind an old machine as the Vereor renewed their barrage. "An RPG, really?" I shouted at the Vereor "Don't you think that's a little _excessive_?"

Leo sprinted out from behind the doorway and made his way over to me, taking cover next to me behind the machine. "Come on, we have to go!"

"No!" I said defiantly "I'll make these _culos_ regret the day they invaded our home!"

Leo sighed dejectedly "Fine, what can I do to help?"

My eyes fell on _el __Incinerador_, still lying where I had dropped it. "Do you see that cannon?" I asked, pointing out to the weapon to Leo.

"You mean the thing the thing that looks like a tricked out bazooka with a bunch of wires sticking out of it?" Leo raised an eyebrow "Not your most stylish work, sis."

I didn't have time to finish!" I snapped. I took a deep breath to calm myself, no easy feat when you're surrounded by gunfire and the occasional explosion from an RPG. "I need you to run over to it and take out the power cell while I keep the Vereor busy." I yanked out my custom Leatherman and pressed it into Leo's hand. "Then, I need you to bring it back to me. Here, take this as well." I pulled out another pistol from where I had tucked it into the back of my belt and gave it to Leo along with a few full magazines for it.

Leo looked at me quizzically "How many guns do you _have_?"

I shook my head "Just these three, plus two daggers. Now get going!"

Leo started to get to his feet when he paused and held out the oversized, seven inch Leatherman to me. "Which one's the screwdriver?"

I sighed and opened the Leatherman, revealing the pliers, and flipped a screwdriver out of the many assorted tools.

"Thanks," Leo smiled at me gratefully.

I flashed a rare smile back at my little brother. "Wait until they're focused on me." With that I dashed out from behind the machine.

I fired wildly at the Vereor from my higher vantage point. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Leo make a mad dash to _el__ Incinerador_. I ducked behind cover once Leo made it to the laser cannon and hurled another shrapnel grenade at the Vereor. I heard the pounding of footsteps on the stairs and I swore as I emptied each pistol's magazine. I jammed the pistols back into their holster and withdrew two long, curved daggers while the automatic reload in the holsters used thin metal fingers to eject each pistol's empty clip and insert a new one. I ducked and dodged my way from cover to cover as I made my way toward the stairs.

I crouched behind a crate full of rubber snakes (don't ask) that was near the stairs and slowly, with my daggers at the ready, crept around it. I was met with the butt of an assault rifle to my temple, sending me to my knees. The Vereor grunt who had surprised me aimed his rifle at my head. Before he could pull the trigger however, I rushed forward and tackled the grunt, my momentum sending us over the railing of the second floor. I fell like a majestic swan to the floor below, landing on top of the grunt gracefully and using my momentum to plunge the daggers into the grunt's chest.

I stood and noticed that all was silent; the rest of the Vereor grunts still had their weapons trained on the crate I had been hiding behind recently. I could practically feel the shock emanating from the grunts, completely surprised by what I had just done. I saw Leo removing a metal cylinder with wires and a small display screen on it from _el__Incinerador_ and start towards me. I knew that I had to distract the Vereor, otherwise they would open fire on Leo. I grinned, barely a second had passed since I landed when I quickly slid my daggers back into their sheathes and unholstered the pistols. I aimed at the nearest two grunts and fired, driving bullets into their skulls. I rolled to the side as the remaining Vereor regained their senses and opened fire at me. I brought down two more grunts as I ducked and dogged my way between bullets. I dove behind another crate (we have a lot of crates in case you hadn't noticed) and took a moment to catch my breath.

"Maria!"

I swore and dashed out of cover to see Leo sprinting toward me with the power cell in one hand and my Leatherman with the screwdriver still out in the other. "Maria, look out!"

I spun and noticed that one of the grunts had me in his sights. Before he could pull the trigger however, Leo threw my Leatherman at the grunt. It would have been impressive if the Leatherman didn't just bounce of the grunt, only causing him to flinch for a second. That second was long enough for me to bring a pistol around and fire, ending the grunt's life with lead in his brain. I grabbed Leo and pulled him back down behind the crate with me. This entire time the remaining Vereor continued to pump bullets in our direction, none of their shots coming even remotely near us.

_Man,__these __guys __suck__ at__ aiming_, I thought with amusement. "You got the power cell?" I asked Leo.

Leo nodded and held out the metal cylinder. "What's the plan?"

I thought quickly, "I'm going to keep the Vereor focused on me while you sneak around to the breached door. Set the power cell to overload and toss it through the door, then run for your life. The explosion should collapse the tunnel and prevent any more Vereor from getting through."

"What if one of the grunts sees me?" Leo asked with concern.

"Do you still have that gun I gave you?"

Leo nodded and pulled the pistol out from where he had tucked it in his trousers.

"Then use it." I said darkly before sprinting out from behind cover, dropping one of the grunts with a quick stream of bullets.

Undoubtedly, some of you must be wondering two things: First: Why aren't you bothered by the fact that you're killing people? And Second: How have you not been hit yet? To answer your first question, this is not the first time I've had to kill people to defend myself, nor will it be the last. If I have to choose between my life and my brother's life over the life of some nameless grunt trying to kill me, I think the answer is pretty obvious. Now for your second question, as I've said before, most of the Vereor couldn't hit the ground they're standing on if they tried. There's a reason why firing an assault rifle from the hip is considered idiotic. Add to that the fact that I can navigate Archer's warzone of a "training" room unscathed in less than three minutes and they don't stand a chance.

I effortlessly dodged between bullets, firing wildly at the Vereor grunts as Leo moved from cover to cover, slowly making his way toward the breached door. A small part of my brain registered that Vereor reinforcements had ceased to pour through the door, leaving only a dozen or so grunts for me to kill. That knowledge reinforced my determination as I fired at another grunt, felling him. I rolled between a pair of grunts, bringing up my pistols and simultaneously killing them. I ducked behind cover and jammed the pistols back in their holsters, letting the automatic reload do its work. I withdrew my daggers and rolled back out of cover. I ducked and weaved my way to the nearest grunt and, once I was in range, I plunged a dagger into the grunt's skull. I withdrew the dagger and narrowly dodged another RPG round as I ducked behind another crate.

I took a moment to catch my breath before jumping out from behind the crate; I expertly threw the daggers into the throats of two more Vereor grunts. I drew my pistols and felled two more grunts before I had to retreat behind the crate again. I rolled away from the crate I had been hiding behind a moment before the grunt with the RPG blew it up. I holstered one of my pistols and fired wildly at the remaining Vereor with the other pistol as I made a mad dash to one of the grunts I had thrown a dagger into. I felled one of the remaining three grunts before I reached the body and I felled another as I yanked the dagger free from the corpse's throat.

I became aware of the sudden silence that fell over the room. I locked my eyes on the last Vereor standing: the one with the RPG. The grunt had just finished loading another round into the RPG and was currently pointing it at me. I grinned as I holstered the other pistol, leaving me with only the dagger in my hands. We stared each other down for what felt like hours, waiting to see who would strike first.

Finally, I saw the grunt tense as he pulled the trigger…

…I moved…

…I felt a strong gust of wind as the round passed mere centimeters to my right…

…I threw the dagger…

…And sent it straight into the grunt's eye…

…The grunt dropped to the floor and all was silent…

"That was awesome, sis!" Leo's voice broke through the silence. I turned and found Leo standing in front of the tunnel door, grinning at me. "You never told me you were badass!"

I grinned back at my little brother. "Set the power cell to overload and place it in the tunnel, we don't want to risk any more Vereor getting through."

Leo rolled his eyes "Yeah, yeah, I'm doing it, I'm doing it." He started tapping away at the power cell's display screen.

Then a large serrated blade sprouted from his chest.

Time stood still. Leo's grin slowly faded away to shock as he looked down at the large blade sticking through his chest from behind. My own grin vanished and was replaced with total, utter, horror. Leo slowly lifted his eyes to meet mine, disbelief shining in them. Behind him, in the shadows of the tunnel I could make out a large muscular man: the very man holding the blade piercing my brother's chest.

"Maria…" Leo's voice was little more than a whisper.

The man removed the blade from Leo, allowing my little brother to fall to the floor.

I broke free of my daze and rushed to Leo's side, ignoring the man looming over him. I rolled Leo onto his back and cradled him in my arms. "Leo!" I cried frantically "Leo can you hear me? Leo stay with me!" I felt tears stream down my cheeks.

Leo's unfocused eyes slid over me and to the ceiling. "Maria…" he whispered "Maria, I… I see birds." With those last words Leo's eyes glazed over and he went limp in my arms.

"LEO!"

* * *

><p>Ella:<p>

LEO!

I started as I felt Leo's life ebbing away. Panic and worry started to set in as I felt Maria's disbelief and grief. I started up the ladder; I had to help him!

_Bark! Bark! Bark!_

I looked down at Luke, "Hush Luke, I'll be back in a minute."

I continued my climb while Luke got on his hind legs and put his front paws on the lower rungs, unable to follow me up the ladder. I opened the trap door and climbed out into Archer's office. I made a mad dash to the garage, trying to get there before Leo's life force faded away completely. My tiny legs carried me through the observation room and down the stairs to the second floor of the garage. I ran to the railing and looked down at the first floor of the garage, taking everything in at once.

Over twenty Vereor grunts lay dead throughout the garage. Several crates and machines were blown to pieces. Maria was kneeling on the ground in front of the tunnel door, cradling Leo in her arms. The ponytail she normally wore her hair in had come undone and several strands of hair had fallen in front of her face, concealing her tears. Looming over her was a large, muscular, 7ft tall man with broad shoulders and a hideously scarred face. In his hand he held a large, double-edged sword with serrated edges.

What caught my attention most however, was Leo as he went limp in Maria's arms.

"LEO!" I cried.

I ran down the stairs. There was still time to save him if I could just reach him in time…

I raced toward Maria and Leo, my hands already surrounded by a green aura in preparation to heal Leo. Before I could reach them however, the large man moved past Maria and Leo and grabbed my arm roughly in meaty a scarred hand.

"Where do you think _you__'__re_ going?" He spoke in a harsh, mocking voice.

"Please!" I begged "Let me heal Leo!"

"No," The large man said "I think not, Conduit scum!"

At that moment, a voice spoke up. "Let. Her. Go."

Maria had stood up and now was glaring at the large man in cold fury with her pistols drawn.

The large man laughed "_Please_, you're no threat to me. Now drop your weapons before I kill you like I did your brother."

An inferno of vengeance burned in Maria's eyes. "I'm going to kill you, you _madre-coito__ hijo__ de__ puta_!"

Maria raised her pistols and aimed at the large man's head. Before she could pull the trigger however, there was a flash of silver and a small dart appeared, jutting out of her neck. Maria frowned and pulled the dart out of her neck. She stared at the dart in confusion for a moment before she fell to the ground, unconscious. Another man stepped out of the tunnel flanked by several Vereor grunts. This new man had slicked back black hair, a handsome face, and was wearing an expensive white suit. The new man knelt down next to Leo and checked his pulse. When he looked back up at the large man restraining me, he had a look of disproval on his face.

"I believe I said I wanted the _both_ alive, Carver."

The large man called Carver shrugged "So? You have the girl."

The man's mouth became a thin line as he frowned. He gestured to two of the grunts flanking him, "You and you, take his body back to the lab." He said, gesturing to Leo. He pointed to two more grunts. "You two," he pointed to Maria's unconscious form. "Bring her to a holding cell and stand watch outside."

The man walked over to where Carver kept me restrained. He looked down at me with a curious intrigue in his eyes. "Hello, Ella Wolfe." He spoke in a cool voice. "It's wonderful to finally make your acquaintance. My name is Dr. Baker, I've heard so much about you."

* * *

><p>Cole:<p>

Kuo and I stood on a peak overlooking the valley that cradled Philsburg. "I can sense them, they're somewhere down there." I said darkly, my gaze fixed on the city below me, only distinguishable from the dark, starless night by its eerie.

"Cole." Kuo got my attention and pointed to the northeast. I squinted my eyes and was barely able to make out the towering wall of smoke slowly approaching the city.

"Sasha's Harvesters," I spat with disgust "We'd better get moving."


	12. Fear Itself

**Warning: This chapter will contain dark thoughts of revenge and graphic violence in the form of blood, gore, and a very gruesome death.**

12: Fear Itself

Ryan:

I slowly opened my eyes, fully expecting to be either dead, or buried under the wreckage of the warehouse. What I didn't expect to see was a bubble of blue-to-green light protecting me. I looked around and saw that everyone else had their own bubbles of light protecting them. The warehouse had been reduced to a pile of rubble. Fortunately, most of the wreckage had blown outwards, leaving only the remains of the roof around us. The bubbles of light faded away and Sunny collapsed to the ground.

Eli and I immediately ran to Sunny's side. "Are you okay?" Eli asked with concern.

Sunny nodded slowly and spoke between breaths "I… I've never tried… to protect… multiple people… from multiple explosions… before…"

"Can you stand?" I asked.

"Yeah, just... just give me a minute…"

"I'm afraid we don't have a minute." Archer said darkly, walking over to us. "If this was a trap then we need to return to the hideout and see if the others are okay." Archer picked Sunny up in his arms "Follow me."

Archer sprinted all the way back to the factory with me and Eli in tow. Once Sunny had regained her strength, she got Archer to put her down so she wouldn't burden him. We made our way into the tunnels and all but flew through the passages to find the door to the hideout blown off its hinges. We burst into the garage to find it strewn with the bodies of Vereor grunts.

"Maria's handiwork." Archer said flatly.

"Then where are they?" Eli asked worriedly.

Sunny spoke up "Perhaps they-"

"Wait," I said, raising my hand. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Eli asked

"Shh, listen."

The others fell silent and listened for several moments until they had heard what I had. "Is that…" Sunny said in puzzlement "…barking?"

Without warning, Archer set off at a sprint toward the stairs. We followed him up the stairs, through the observation room, passed the common room and into his office. Archer knelt down and opened a trap door under his desk. Archer climbed down into the escape tunnel and came back up a few seconds later with Luke under one arm.

"Luke," Sunny said to the wolf when Archer had put him down. "Where are Ella, Leo, and Maria?"

Luke barked several times in response.

I gasped "They're stuck in a well?" I noticed that everyone –including the _wolf_– was glaring at me. I grinned sheepishly "Sorry, I couldn't resist. Did you honestly think that you'd get an answer from him?"

If I didn't know any better, I'd have said Luke looked insulted. Archer pulled out a radio and spoke rapidly into it. There was an incoherent response from the radio and Archer sighed, putting the radio away. "They never arrived at Thomas' something's wrong."

Eli shared a concerned glance with Sunny, "Do you think the Vereor… took them?"

Archer sighed, "It's the only explanation left." In a rare display, Archer angrily punched the wall. "Damn it!"

"We can get them back," Sunny tried to calm Archer "All we need to do is-"

Without warning, Archer spun on Sunny "No, we _can't_!" he growled "The Vereor HQ is located in an old fort. The place is more heavily fortified than Fort Knox, there's no way get in there without being seen! They're _gone_!"

Archer stepped back and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself. I spoke up in the awkward silence that followed. "How did they even find this place?"

Archer opened his eyes and addressed me in a level voice. "They most likely found one of the tunnel entrances. Even so, the tunnels are a maze, it would be almost impossible to find us."

An idea popped into my mind so fast it was like a light bulb had been turned on in my brain. "What if they had a map?" At everyone's inquisitive looks I explained. "What if this isn't the only base under Philsburg? What if the Vereor had access to one of those bases? What if that base had a map of the tunnel network?"

I could practically see the gears turning in Archer's mind "It's a possibility, but finding it would be just as impossible as attacking the Vereor head-on"

I grinned "Leave that to me."

* * *

><p>Several minutes later, we were standing just inside the dimly lit tunnel we had come through.<p>

"Are you sure about this?" Sunny asked.

I waved off her concerns "I've fused myself into the shadows before and I've listened to them, combining those two shouldn't be too hard."

"That's not what we're worried about," Eli said "Every time you've fused with the shadows you're consciousness is mostly contained in one place, but what you're suggesting: spreading your consciousness across an area –and a _large_ area at that. What if you can't pull yourself back together?"

I rolled my eyes "Relax_ mom_, I'll be fine." With that I turned away from my two friends and drew on the shadows around me. I felt the darkness merge with my skin, my flesh, my very _being_ and suddenly my physical body vanished and I was one with the shadows.

There are no words to accurately describe what being one with the shadows is like, but I'll do my best. Imagine that you are aware of everything around you, every sound as loud as a gong, you see everything at once, every detail, every movement, _everything_. Add on top of that the feeling that you _are_ everything and you'll have about as close an understanding of the experience as any none shadow-kinetic can get. I let my awareness expand and keep on expanding farther and farther down the tunnels, stretching my consciousness further than I ever had before, and then some. All the while I was being overwhelmed by a tsunami of information. I was aware of everything, hell I _was_ everything, and I had only expanded my consciousness in a few hundred feet radius. The feedback was overwhelming; I couldn't distinguish the patter of a rat's feet from a tunnel wall.

Then I felt… _something_ brush against my mind.

"_Ah, at last you attempt the hardest task any shadow-kinetic can manage: total shadow omniscience."_

I mentally tried to recoil but the… _thing_ had me caught like a fly in a web.

"_Now, now, no need to fret. I have been watching you for some time."_

Surprise vibrated through me. Cautiously, I responded. _Who-_What_ are you? _I asked warily, several possibilities already running through my mind.

"_I am not a god if that's what you're asking?"_

I hesitated before responding. _Then what are you?_

"_A Conduit obviously, and a powerful Conduit at that."_

_Have I heard of you?_

"_No, I was a Conduit long before MacGrath began his crusade and I have learned to conceal myself from him."_

_What do you want with me? _

"_I'm curious. The Shadows see all, nothing can hide from the darkness, and I have searched far and wide for another shadow-kinetic. In all my years of searching, you are the only one I've found."_

There was a long pause before I responded._ Huh?_

Suddenly, I felt myself reforming; my consciousness coming back together as the torrent of information thankfully subsided. Before my body could fully reshape itself however, I felt something tug at my gut and suddenly I felt like I was flying over a great distance. After several seconds of flying, I felt my speed drop and I came to a halt. All darkness cleared from my vision and I found myself standing in a large circular plaza.

Standing tall in the center of the plaza was an obelisk, while the plaza was ringed by a large columned wall with two gaps in it on opposite sides of the plaza. Beyond the larger of the two gaps -the entrance I assumed- I could see the ruins of a large city. Opposite this, past the other smaller of the two gaps, there was a large, towering domed cathedral, its gilded doors and striking mosaic windows in remarkably good condition.

The voice spoke once more. _"When you are alone, lost, and betrayed, come to me here and I will teach you the Way of the Shadows."_

A dozen questions raced through my mind but I voiced only the one that concerned me the most. _What do you mean betrayed? By whom?_

"_You will see. Now, our time s up and I must send you back but before I do, a word of caution: Do not pin all your hopes on Ella, she is not as powerful as the Beast."_

_What do you mean? How powerful is she?_

"_Enough."_

My vision started to go dark once more and I once again felt myself flying at great speeds. _Wait! What do you mean by that?_

I was answered with only silence. I cried out as I felt my back slam into something hard. The darkness cleared from my vision and I found myself lying on my back on the floor back in the tunnel, Sunny, Eli, and Archer standing over me with concern written on their faces.

"Are you okay?" Sunny asked worriedly.

"Yeah," I groaned; my head hurt like hell. "What happened?"

"We don't know." Eli said "You disappeared into the shadows and then a few minutes later you reformed on the floor."

"Did you find them?" Archer asked urgently.

I shook my head "No, when I extended my consciousness the feedback was too overwhelming; I couldn't discern one thing from another. Then…" I stopped myself from relaying my encounter with the mysterious voice; something told me I shouldn't share that information. "…Then I landed back here, sorry."

Archer eyed me suspiciously, I had a feeling he knew I wasn't telling them everything.

Eli sighed and helped me to my feet "It was worth a shot. We'll just have to figure so-"

_Bark!_

We turned to the source of the bark: Luke. The pup was sitting farther in the tunnel, looking at us expectantly. "What is it Luke?" Sunny asked.

The young wolf barked again and started down the tunnel, his nose to the ground. Archer raised his eyebrows "Huh, I can't believe I didn't think of it before." He started after Luke.

"What?" Eli asked as we followed after Archer.

"Luke can sniff them out." Archer said "As long as the trail hasn't gone cold, he should lead us right to them."

* * *

><p>Luke (wait, <em>WHAT<em>?_)_:

The poor lighting of the man-caves-underground did not concern me: my eyes were made to hunt in the dark. What aided me most however was the sensor-of-surroundings on the tip of my snout. Information from the smells-that-inform poured in. A bad-black-rodent was nearby, and an old mark-of-territory was around the next corner. Behind me, man-Archer and the three man-pups were following close behind me. What I was focused on however, was the scent of litter-bond-mate-Ella. I honed in on the trail. I felt black-night-fear emanate from litter-bond-mate-Ella through our linking-of-hearts. The protective instinct ingrained in me burned brighter and I increased my speed, forcing man-Archer and man-pups to sprint to keep up with me.

"Luke, slow down!" cried man-pup-Eli.

The only word that held meaning was my man-name, the other words were as meaningless as an annoying-small-bug-that-buzzes-in-ear. Still, I understood the intention and decided to ignore them. If man-Archer and man-pups can't keep up with me then I will leave them behind.

No one would keep me from litter-bond-mate-Ella.

I would not lose her.

I would not fail.

* * *

><p>Kuo:<p>

"It's quiet… too quiet…"

"_Really_ Cole?" I put my hands on my hips "There's plenty of background noise."

Cole grinned at me "I know, but I've always wanted to say that." He shrugged "Besides I'm from Empire, this place has nothing on its cacophony."

"Well, look who learned a new word." I couldn't resist teasing.

Cole cocked an eyebrow at me "You're never going to forget the 'Ray-a-what?' comment are you?"

I rolled my eyes and looked down at the old fort from our perch on a roof to the south. "Sense Eli anywhere?"

Cole's eyes flashed and he stared at the fort intently for a moment before frowning. "Odd, I can sense him but he's… underground?"

"Sewers perhaps?" I suggested.

Cole shrugged "Maybe, I can sense the girl as well." Cole pointed to the fort. "She's in there."

"So," I said after a moment "What's our plan of attack?"

"Go in all powers blazing?" Cole suggested.

"And what about the truck that has been suspiciously parked at the base of this building for the past ten minutes?"

"The what?" Cole looked down from the roof to the truck below. "How did I not see that?"

Suddenly, the truck started to rumble and Cole stiffened. "Kuo, get ready to-"

He never got to finish his sentence as the truck blew apart and something large, white, and bulky rocketed at Cole, tackling him and sending them both flying south through the air, Cole's voice fading away as the swore. "_Son of a …_"

My eyes widened "Oh, fuck."

* * *

><p>Cole:<p>

I landed hard.

Not that it really mattered, me being the invincible all-fucking-powerful Beast and all but still: _OW_!

I rolled my shoulders and got to my feet. I had landed amidst the ruins of an old nuclear plant: 3 ½ Mile Island I think was its name. I faced the thing that had dared to challenge me as it landed on its rockets. It was a large machine with a camera for a head, its large white frame adorned with various weapons.

"**Beastslayer Mark 11 primary protocol active." **The machine spoke in a cold metallic voice. **"Objective: Terminate Cole MacGrath."**

I cocked an eyebrow "_Really_?" I raised a single hand to the heavens and red lightning arced across the sky. "Good luck with that."

I brought my hand down and trillions of volts of red lightning shot down from the heavens, striking the machine. I kept up the torrent for a few more seconds before I let up. When the smoke cleared I expected the machine to be a pile of fried circuits and scrap metal. What I didn't expect was for the machine to be completely unscathed.

"**Is that it?"** the machine said, sounding bored.

I just stood there, gapping in disbelief. Nobody could survive that! _Nobody_!

When I didn't respond the machine curled its metal fingers into a fist and mimed cracking its knuckles. **"My turn."**

The machine thrust its hands out, fingers spread wide. Two balls of swirling light appeared in each hand and I barely had time to shield myself when the balls combined into one giant beam of light fired at me. I was knocked back into a building behind me by the blast and the building collapsed on top of me. Anger burst to life inside of me and I blasted the rubble on top of me away with an explosion of fire.

As I got to my feet I grinned grimly at the Beastslayer. "This should be interesting."

* * *

><p>Eli:<p>

_God, this dog can run fast!_ I thought as we chased after Luke. We had been following the pup for several minutes now and my legs were killing me.

Luke rounded a corner and as we followed him, I noticed that at the far end of the tunnel was a metal door guarded by two Vereor grunts. Before they had time to react, Luke was on one of them, taking a flying leap to the grunt's face and knocking him to the ground while ripping out the grunt's throat with his jaws. Archer pulled out his crossbow and fired a bolt into the brain of the other grunt before he had time to aim at Luke with his assault rifle.

We stopped in front of the door and Ryan tried the handle. "Locked," he said bitterly when the door refused to budge.

"Allow me," Archer said, stepping forward and taking a small case out.

I raised an eyebrow "Maria's pocket knife?"

"Leatherman," Archer corrected as he pressed a button on the case and a strange device that resembled a mini cattle prod flipped out "I found it near a dead grunt in the hideout." Archer pressed the device to a keypad next to the door. "Now if I remember correctly… Aha!"

The door unlocked with a click and swung open. Archer grinned at me as he put the Leatherman away. "Portable code breaker."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "That's… pretty cool."

We entered through the door to find another deserted hallway. Ryan groaned "Not _another_ one."

"Shh" Archer quieted us and slowly crept toward the door at the other end of the hall.

Archer stopped just outside the door and readied his crossbows before he kicked the door in. Archer rolled inside the room and I lost sight of him. There were sounds of struggle and the _Twang_ of Archer's crossbows for several seconds before all was silent. I held my breath in anticipation and sighed in relief as Archer reappeared in the doorway.

"What are you waiting for?" Archer said impatiently.

We followed Archer through the door and into a locker room. Strewn throughout it were the bodies of three Vereor grunts. Archer searched the lockers and eventually found a digital map of the Vereor base. "It looks like we're underneath the Vereor's fort." Archer said, studying the map. "Maria, Leo, and Ella should be in the detention block, follow me."

We made our way through the halls and rooms underneath the Vereor base. Occasionally we came across a couple of Vereor grunts. When that happened, Ryan, Luke, or I would swiftly eliminate them while Sunny protected Archer. Several minutes and 27 dead Vereor grunts later, we arrived in the detention block. Ryan and I eliminated two guards standing in front of a cell door. Archer hurriedly opened the door and rushed into the cell.

I followed Archer into the cell. It was small and dark, barely large enough to fit four people. Lying in the corner, her eyes closed, hair a mess, and a small trickle of blood steadily flowing from a pierced artery in her arm, was Maria.

Archer rushed to her side, quickly applying a bandage to her arm. "Maria, can you hear me?" he said calmly yet I could still make out the fear in his voice. "Are you alright?"

Maria groggily opened her eyes. "…Archer…?" her tone was not something I'd heard from her before: it sounded fragile, broken.

"Easy," Archer said when Maria tried to rise.

"…Took my blood…" Maria mumbled.

Archer stiffened "What's wrong?" Sunny asked.

Archer shook his head "Nothing, it appears that they took a lot of Maria's blood."

"Why would they do that?" Ryan asked

"I don't know," Archer said quickly. He turned his attention back to Maria. "Where are Leo and Ella?"

Maria's eyes suddenly filled with tears "Archer…" she said softly "Leo's dead…"

There was a long, horrible silence before Archer spoke again "_What_?"

Maria explained "A man… covered in scars… had a double edged sword… stabbed him…"

"Carver," Archer said darkly "Where's Ella?"

At that moment, whether coincidence, divine influence, or just plain dumb luck, one of the dead grunts' radios cackled to life. A harsh voice spoke through it, **"Rogers, grab the girl and meet me and the doctor at Access Point B. He's taking the freak, the girl, and the kids corpse back to Rissikburg."**

The radio cut out and Archer swore. "_Carver_. He's giving them over to the representative." Archer sighed "We have to get Maria out of here. Sunny, help me with her."

Until now I had been silent, too shocked by the news of Leo's death to speak, but now I found my voice.

"WHAT?"

Everyone looked at me in astonishment. I continued "You're not going to get revenge on Carver? He _killed_ Leo!"

Archer spoke up "Eli we-"

"And what about Ella?" I ignored him "We can't just leave her!"

Archer stood up and stared down at me. "Eli, Maria needs medical attention. But trust me; we _will_ save Ella." Archer's eyes softened "I want to kill Carver for what he's done too, more than you in fact, but unlike you I know where that path leads."

I did not stand down "If you lack the balls to do what's right then I will."

Archer sighed "Fine," he tossed me a small device. "Clip that to your ear and contact us if you get Ella."

I nodded and took a map from one of the grunts' corpses before starting down the hallway. "Luke, stay with them." I said once I noticed the wolf was following me.

"Eli…" I froze when I heard Maria's weak voice. Slowly, I turned around and saw Maria standing up, supported by Sunny. She locked her dark eyes with my golden ones. "Kill that _hijo de puta._"

I nodded and turned my back on them, sprinting down the halls.

As I used the map to navigate through the halls, my mind was clouded by dark thoughts of revenge. Leo had become like a little brother to me this past month. Sure he was annoying at times but he was also fun-loving, energetic, friendly, and when it comes right down to it a good person. Now he was dead; killed by that bastard Carver. The fire of hate that burned in me far outshone the hatred I had felt just before I killed Burke. I dashed through a mess with a small group of Vereor grunts sitting at a table, barely glancing at them as I tossed a fireball in their direction, incinerating the grunts before they had time to notice my presence.

Through the halls I sprinted, brutally killing any grunts that got in my way. Finally, I burst through an open door and into Access Point B…

* * *

><p>Maria:<p>

We made our way to the nearest exit, Archer, Ryan, and Luke killing any grunts we encountered while Sunny protected me. Gradually, I could feel my strength returning to me though I still had to lean on Sunny for Support. We entered another room with four grunts scattered around it. Ryan immediately vanished into the shadows, only to rematerialize next to a grunt and plunge his dagger into the grunt's throat. Archer fired his crossbows and took down two more grunts while Luke leapt on the last grunt before he could draw his gun and tore out his throat.

I looked around the room. From what I could tell, this was a workshop, with various bits and pieces of guns and explosives scattered around. Lying on a workbench were several rolled up blueprints.

Nearby I saw that Ryan was looting a container. "Hey, grenades. _Sweet_!" Ryan cried, triumphantly taking out several bandoleers full of grenades from the container.

Archer looked at Ryan sternly. "Put those back."

"Aw…" Ryan groaned "You're no fun."

I however, was more focused on the blueprints. "Hey Sunny, could you get those for me?"

Sunny frowned in confusion but leaned me against the wall and grabbed the blueprints from the workbench. "Why?" she asked as she handed the blueprints to me and resumed supporting me.

I shrugged "Why let perfectly good blueprints go to waste?"

"You can examine your souvenirs later," Archer said "Right now; there should be an elevator to the surface through here."

We followed Archer to the elevator in the next room and we crowded inside. Ryan pushed the button for the top floor. We waited several minutes as we ascended and when we reached our floor the door opened…

…right onto the roof of a tall building.

Ryan gaped in surprise "I think I pushed the wrong button."

"No worries, I can just lower us to ground level," Sunny said.

Archer however, frowned. He took out a pair of binoculars and looked to the northeast. "Damn it."

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"See that wall of smoke?" Archer said, pointing it out to us "That can mean only two things: a forest fire or…"

"Feral Harvesters." Ryan finished darkly.

My eyes widened and Sunny paled (if that's even possible with her already pale skin) at the mention of the monsters that were currently marching on Philsburg.

Archer nodded "We need to stop them before they reach the city."

"No," Ryan interjected "What we _need_ to do is get the hell out of Dodge."

"And leave all these people to be corrupted and turned into mindless Feral husks?" Sunny snapped "No way."

Ryan sighed "Fine, but if we're going to take on a pack of Harvesters…" Ryan grinned and the bandoleers he had found earlier materialized from the shadows in his hands "…then it's a good thing I brought grenades."

Archer glared at Ryan "I thought I told you to put those back."

Ryan shrugged "Did you really expect me to listen?"

"Point," Archer turned to me "Maria, wait for us here." He handed me an ear-com and the binoculars "Luke, watch over her."

Sunny set me down on the roof before creating a large disk of light. Sunny, Archer, and Ryan got onto the disk and crouched down low on it. "Hold on tight." Sunny said before the disk shot out toward the Harvesters, carrying Sunny, Archer, and Ryan with it.

I watched them go for a moment before turning to look at Luke. The pup was looking at me curiously "Sooo…" I said awkwardly "What's up?"

Luke looked at me like I was delirious (which could very well be a possibility). I sighed and opened the blueprints "At least now I'll have time to study these…" my voice trailed off as I studied the blueprints "_Cuál el Infierno_?"

* * *

><p>Eli:<p>

… I burst through an open door and into Access Point B, taking in everything in a single glance. Access Point B was a large concrete tunnel, high enough to fit a truck and wide enough for a two lane road. How did I know this? I knew because there was a truck and a two lane road in it. The start of the tunnel was bathed in an eerie red light while further down, I could see that the lights turned white. The back of the truck was open with a ramp extending down from it. Being pushed up the ramp by a man in a dark green uniform was a stretcher with a body bag on it –it didn't take a genius to figure out what was inside it. There were five other men in the room; three men also in dark green uniforms, a tall man with short, slicked back, black hair wearing an expensive white suit, and a large man covered in scars wearing a red jacket over his large scarred chest and a long, double-edged sword with serrated edges strapped to his back.

"ELI!"

I snapped my attention to the source of the voice. Restrained by a man in a green uniform standing in the truck, was Ella. Lightning arced across my arms "Let. Her. Go."

The man in the suit stepped forward "Ah, so this is young Mr. Macgrath." The man spoke with a familiar accent I couldn't place. He eyed me up and down. "I must admit I expected you to have fangs and be spitting fire from Roman's description."

That stopped me in my tracks "You know Roman?"

The man in the suit laughed "Of course, you don't think that we funded just the Vereor do you?"

The full impact of his words struck me. "You're behind _both_ the Vereor and the HR?"

"Well, not me specifically." The man in the suit said "But yes, the people I represent do fund both those groups."

"_Who_?" I said, threateningly taking a step forward.

The man in the suit laughed "Did you really think I would tell you that? No, I think not." The man in the suit snapped his fingers and the large, scarred man stepped forward. "Carver,"

I felt my anger return with renewed vigor upon seeing the bastard who killed Leo.

"Yes, Doctor?" Carver said, sounding bored.

The man in the suit pointed at me "Deal with him."

Carver grinned savagely and unlimbered the large blade from his back "With pleasure."

I snarled and unsheathed the katana from my backpack, fire and lightning burning in my other hand. I was hardly aware of the doctor and the others climbing into the truck. I ignored Ella frantically calling my name while the truck's back hatch closed, and I paid no attention as the truck started and sped down the tunnel; all my attention was focused on the son of a bitch who killed Leo.

"You'll pay for what you did to Leo." I snarled venomously.

Carver laughed; a harsh, cruel sound that stroked the fires of my fury even more. "The kid? He was easy to kill, like a dumb pig sent to the slaughter."

My anger burned brighter than a raging inferno. I thrust out my hand and focused all my rage into a large blast of sapphire fire. Carver vanished in the blaze and I kept up the torrent for as long as I could. When I was starting to feel weak, something large burst from the inferno and tackled me. I rolled away from the brute and spun to face my foe. Carver was only slightly singed, having somehow ducked under the flames. He grinned at me "I've trained for years to fight Conduits; do you really think you have a chance?"

I growled and hurled a light grenade at Carver, hoping to blind him. Carver anticipated my move and rolled out of the way of the grenade, charging right at me. Carver slashed sideways, aiming to cleave me in two. I back flipped out of the way of the blade, charging a lightning bolt as I did. I fired at Carver only for him to dodge and retaliate with a swing to my throat. I barely had time to bring my katana up to deflect the blow to the side. Sparks flew and my arm vibrated from the impact as the blades clashed, the ring of metal on metal echoing through the tunnel.

I shoved Carver's blade to the side and tried to gain some distance between us but it was no use, Carver was on me in seconds, blade flying toward my head. I ducked away from the swing and counter- attacked with a strike of my own, only to be effortlessly blocked. I parried Carver's next slash and tried to run him through only to be parried once more. Carver punched my gut, winding me, before raising his sword to remove my head. I barely managed to raise my sword to deflect the blow to the side in time, earning a gash in my arm for my efforts. Carver's eyes widened and his lips spread into a sadistic smile at the smell of first blood.

I will never know how long we fought; all I was aware of was the ache in my limbs and the ring of our blades. Initially I tried dodging and dancing around Carver, planning to use his bulkier form and slower speed against him. Carver soon proved that method defunct however, as he moved with a speed to rival Archer. Next I tried getting some distance between us so I could use my powers effectively but again, Carver bested me, barely letting any distance between us more than a few feet. I soon found myself struggling to defend myself, Carver's blows having both the speed and power in them that jarred my arms every time our blades contacted.

I slashed at Carver's throat only for him to bat my blade to the side. I tried to follow up with another slash to his legs but Carver had other plans. He blocked my strike and before I could react, aimed a booted foot at my ankle. I heard a sickening crack as the blow landed, feeling the bones in my ankle break carver followed up with a punch to my jaw, sending me to the floor. I barely managed to roll out of the way as Carver followed through with a slash to my head. I raised my katana to block Carver's next strike. The already battered katana shattered under the blow and I cried out as I ducked under the unstoppable slash. Lightning and fire arcing across my arms, I rolled under Carver's next strike and buried what remained of my katana into Carver's thigh. Carver grunted in surprise and swung at my chest.

I reflexively stuck out my hands and somehow caught Carver's wrists, stopping the swing. I don't know where the idea came from but I immediately coated Carver's hands in fire and lightning, burning his flesh off and turning his hands into charred lumps of flesh. Carver cried out and released his blade. I let go of Carver's wrists and caught the blade as it fell. I spun back around and swung the blade through Carver's chest, parting flesh, cleaving through his intestines, his blood spraying out and staining my clothes.

Carver cried out and fell to his knees, clutching where I had cut him open with the burn lumps of flesh that were all that remained of his hands. I struggled to my feet, careful not to put weight on my broken ankle.

Carver looked up at me, a sick, sadistic gleam in his eyes. "Do you feel it?" he whispered hoarsely "The _pleasure_ of snuffing out your foe's life? Does it fill you with _joy_?"

I looked down on the disgusting, homicidal, sociopath. "Normally no," I said darkly. I raised the blade in my hands above my head, pumping lightning and fire through it. "But for you I'll make an exception. Just. This. ONCE!"

Upon speaking those last words, I brought the blade down on Carver's head with all my enhanced Conduit strength. I cleaved through his skull, splitting his brain, rending his spine, ripping through his vital organs, and slicing through his intestines. When the red faded from my vision, I saw that I had cleaved Carver in two from head to toe. I felt nausea overwhelm me and I promptly vomited up the contents of my stomach all over the bloody carcass.

Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I looked down at what remained of the Vereor leader with disgust. I spat on the corpse. "Have fun in Hell."

With that I turned away and limped down the tunnel.


End file.
